Sakura's New Future
by MarzSpy
Summary: Sequel to Sakura's New Past. Sakura is back, with a whole new hurdle of challenges. Among them is destroying Akatsuki, and although she thinks that coming from the past is a great advantage, she'll find she has more to worry about than she thought imaginable. More truths are revealed, and now it is finally time to confront Itachi. What will happen? What sides will be chosen?
1. Since Then (Prologue)

**Hello lovely readers! I'm back with the sequel to Sakura's New Past! That's right! For all you new readers, this is a SEQUEL, so if you start here this won't make much sense to you!**

**I just want to start off by saying that updates will be SLOW, considering I had wanted to finish editing all of Sakura's New Past before continuing on with the sequel, and since I failed to do that, I'll be working on both at the same time. I'll try to do 2-3 revisions on previous chapters in between updates on this fic, just to try and balance out my work.**

**I know a lot of you guys wished for Sakura to remain in the past, but the problem with that is that if she did, there would be two Sakura's in one timeline, and none in the other. And given the circumstances of the Haruno Clan and Orochimaru dead set on finding out the heir, it made trouble that I didn't want to deal with, plus, I already had such a great plan for the plot were Sakura to return to the future. Plus, calculating the poll results plus individual pms of opinions, it had been just about even, given that the "don't care, your choice" votes were added to the going back to the present, for that one is the one I would have preferred to go with.**

**But, regardless of that, I'm sure you guys are going to enjoy what I have in store for you ^_^ You will not be disappointed readers!**

**Now without further ado, I give you guys the sequel.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its character in any shape, or form**

**Chapter 1 (Prologue): Since then**

_Breathe with me Mikoto, we'll make it through_

_Don't worry, I'm here with you. Deep labored breaths Mikoto, we're almost there._

_One more push Mikoto, keep fighting._

_Congratulations, it's a healthy baby girl._

_Her name?_

…_.Saki… Saki Uchiha_

_Wait, what's up with her-_

* * *

_Itachi had not seen Konoha in such high spirits in what could have been ages. Of course, why wouldn't it be lively? The sole female survivor of the Uchiha Massacre had just given birth to a healthy baby girl, he had heard._

_Getting into the village just to catch a glimpse of his precious younger sister had not been an easy feat –not as easy as it usually had been, anyway. Itachi noted, with growing recognition and acceptance, that they had upped security greatly, if not to be wary of Itachi sneaking in to "finish what he started", than in fear that neighboring countries would have their eyes set on Mikoto or the child._

_At least this way, Itachi could be sure that his family was safe._

_And not just them, too…_

_-Sakura._

_Just the thought of her name sent his blood pulsing a little harder. He hadn't seen her in months –since they day after the massacre, to be exact. He hadn't dared come back after their confrontation –after she had explicitly told him to leave… to get out, and to shred all attachments he had once had to her. As she had stated, he was no longer an ally to her. But this, he could not help. He'd give up all ties to her if it meant having her free from Madara's grasps. He'd even be willing to kill her again if need be… It only ever sucked that he never got to explain himself to her, not that he would ever get that chance anyway. Things, as screwed up as they were, were best this way._

_This way, he guaranteed himself, his feet taking him to a place he knew to be the Haruno Compound, neither of them would get hurt again, and Itachi would be able to focus on the crucial side of things. Plus, he reasoned, at least this way, Sakura had a real shot at a bright future with a true love, someone who deserved her much more than he ever would._

_Focusing back on the scene before him, he became much more alert and attentive once entering the Haruno Compound, and finding himself located in a building across from the Haruno main household –where his mother and brother and sister –_and Sakura_, currently resided._

_He could distinctly see two figures in what seemed to be the kitchen, one he easily identified as his mother, and the other as Sasuke._

_From the window, he could see his mother washing the dishes, before she looked up, attentively almost, and made direct contact with Itachi's own gaze._

_She did not seem to exude any form of fear or anger, which greatly relieved him even though he did not show it, and he watched as Mikoto hurriedly sent Sasuke off to bed. She waited about fifteen or so minutes, until she herself retreated from the kitchen, and made her appearance several minutes later on the second floor of the compound, standing outside in the balcony where Itachi quickly appeared._

"_My boy…" Mikoto was quick to whisper to herself, rushing to his arms as she enveloped Itachi in a hug that temporarily left him as vulnerable as the day Shisui died. _The day he killed Shisui. _He easily welcomed the hug, returning it with less fervor but still with much need and care._

"_Okaa-san" Itachi greeted calmly, though on the inside he could think only one thought –he was glad Sakura had prevented him from killing his mother._

"_You are well?" she question him after their long hug was over._

"_Hn" he confirmed, releasing her from their embrace to see her. She seemed to have grown several years in the span of the ten or so months he had not seen her. She must have been exhausted every day, no doubt, worrying over Sasuke and over her unborn child, and no doubt the massacre still took its toll on her today –how would it not, when he was sure wherever she went she would certainly get pitiful looks of 'That poor thing, no husband to care for that unborn child of hers' or 'She had it all, I wonder how she'd dealing with it'._

_Nevertheless, his mother was a strong woman, and regardless of the toll all this had taken on her body, she was still as strong and beautiful as ever in his eyes._

"_I bet you wish to see her." Mikoto smiled knowingly, turning around momentarily and entering her room. A minute passed before she emerged once more, a quiet, sleeping baby with soft black tufts of hair growing wildly and messily on her head. "She's a pain to put to bed, I tell you." Mikoto whispered softly, cradling her between her arms as she approached Itachi._

_Itachi looked down in what could almost be awe, as he took in the sight before him. Pale and soft porcelain skin, smooth and white as the moon. He reached out to grab her hand in his, only to see that her hands instinctively wrapped around his own, bigger index finger._

_Just then she opened her eyes, making a small cooing sound, staring up at Itachi with sleepy but curious eyes. Itachi's eyes snapped towards Mikoto, almost as if wondering if he had done something wrong._

"_She likes meeting new people." Mikoto brushed his worry aside with a smile. "Say hello to your onii-chan, Saki-chan." Mikoto smiled endearingly as she pushed the baby onto Itachi's own hands, which he took rather nervously. He had been seven, if that, when he had held baby Sasuke in his arms –and it had been one of the happiest moments of his life._

_Now was no different, he decided, even if the situation was rather… odd. "Saki…" he repeated, almost as if questioning._

_Mikoto nodded, confirming his thoughts. "It was Sakura who made all this possible… To her we owe everything. She is the godmother."_

_And Itachi couldn't be more in agreement, he decided, looking back down at his baby sister. They stared at each other, her calm and deep black meeting his intense, blood red Sharingan gaze… She blinked, once, twice, her eyebrows furled in what could be concentration, and then without any warning, her eyes suddenly lit a bright blood red, not unlike his own. But then, they developed into something all on their own, akin to his eyes but different in complexity._

_At the sight of this, Mikoto hurriedly closed Saki's eyes with her hands, and Itachi could feel her pump a pulse of chakra into her eyes._

_Frankly, Itachi could say he was more than a little astonished, looking up to Mikoto for an explanation._

"_We weren't entirely sure…" Mikoto began… "All we know is that, shortly after delivery, her eyes turned red and she acquired the Mangekyou Sharingan…" Mikoto was quiet for a moment, watching as Saki reopened her eyes, her pupils back to a nice black color. "Sakura theorized that the traumatic experiences and emotions that I felt during the… _that day,_" Mikoto changed her word choice, "was enough to somehow trigger the Sharingan in Saki. Since she was in my uterus and was still connected to me, my emotions somehow triggered Saki's own sadness and it was enough for her to develop her eyes, somehow…" Mikoto explained._

_It sort of made sense to Itachi, and he bitterly acknowledged that for the Mangekyou to fully awaken, Mikoto had to, in part, feel responsible for the death of a loved one or a best friend. Perhaps this small guilt was enough to trigger a catalyst that, even if not enough to awaken her own, was enough to trigger a sadness so great for a yet unborn child that its eyes developed on their own without the knowledge of the wielder, in this case Saki._

"_Because Saki's chakra reserves are so small right now, she can usually only keep her eyes activated for a few seconds at a time, tops a minute, but it becomes rather dangerous for her to show them in public, which is why she usually stays within the confines of the Haruno Compound until she is at the age in which she can learn to control it. Sakura said that Kakashi Hatake-san would be a great teacher for both Sasuke-kun and Saki-chan in the future. She also taught me a way to forcefully have her deactivate the Sharingan if it wasn't deactivating on its own" Mikoto explained._

_Once more, Itachi could not help but acknowledge how well Sakura had planned this entire ordeal –from the massacre, up until Mikoto's labor and even down to the upbringing of her child. No wonder she was the godmother._

"_And… Sakura…?" Itachi questioned, almost hesitantly as his gaze met his mothers. At the mention of her name, Mikoto's eyebrows furled and concern filled her features. _

"_I don't really know how to tell you this Itachi, but… she's gone…"_

* * *

"_Mikoto, I'm going to have to leave soon…"_

_Sakura was standing before Mikoto as she held on to her newborn child, still in the hospital bed. Her child was just downright perfect, as healthy as can be, although she was a bit small._

"_I know… It's only a matter of time." Mikoto looked up momentarily to smile at Sakura. "I want you to be the godmother." She changed the subject._

"_Mikoto, I can't possibly-" Mikoto cut her off._

"_Sakura, all of this has only been possible because of you. I trust no one more than I trust you to ensure the future safety of my children. I know that putting my trust in you leaves my children in good hands." Mikoto explained._

_Sakura did not speak for a while. "I cannot protect her once I leave… it'll be eleven years down the road before I regain my memories and my present time is resumed."_

"_Then I will wait those eleven years for your return. You have not left me defenseless, Sakura." Mikoto smiled warmly._

"_That's right, Sakura-chan!" Sakura snapped her gaze to the right, where she could clearly see Himawari and Marika sitting down on nearby chairs. "You have nothing to fear with Marika-chan and Hiroto-niisan here to protect Mikoto and Saki-chan!" Himawari explained with genuine excitement._

_Sakura smiled slightly, but her displeasure was still seen. "I wish I didn't have to drag you guys into this and force you to do my bidding." Her smile soon turned into a frown._

"_Sakura," Marika shook her head in denial, "you are our heir. We live to serve and follow you without any doubt. We put our faith in you blindly because we know that you have our best interests at heart. You have reunited us with Konoha, and with this, bit by bit, not only will the Haruno Clan, but the Uchiha clan as well, will return to their former glory." Marika smiled. _

_Sakura felt relieved at Marika's comforting words, as she turned her gaze back on Mikoto, who was smiling back at Sakura._

"_And just as they have put their faith in you, I have done the same Sakura." Mikoto summed up._

"_I won't let you down, Mikoto"_

* * *

"_Before I leave, there is something I must warn you about." Sakura explained, sitting alone in a dark room with Mikoto._

"_There will come a time, maybe not soon, but definitely within the year, that Itachi will come. Remember, he is not your enemy Mikoto… I plead that you keep an open mind." Sakura tried smiling tentatively._

"_Nor is he your enemy, Sakura," Mikoto rest her hand upon Sakura's in an attempt to comfort her._

"_Mikoto, he tried to kill me… whatever the reason is, I simply cannot turn my back on that…" Sakura frowned. "If… if he comes, and if he asks of me, tell him nothing of me. Tell him I am gone, and it is as simple as that. It is better he think me dead, rather that attempt to kill me again, or worse."_

"_But surely he must have had a reason-"_

"_Please Mikoto… as of now, it is best he not know of my true identity… Kami forgive what may happen if he finds out I essentially came from the future to trick him." Sakura frowned._

_Mikoto did not respond for several seconds, but gave her response seconds afterwards anyway. "You have my word." She confirmed._

_Because even if she didn't completely agree, she could not deny Sakura of this wish._

* * *

_She was gone. Mikoto could say no more than that –she didn't need to, frankly. Itachi understood what she meant, at least in the pretext that Sakura had wished it for._

_He pressed no further –he had no reason to. It's not like he had lost her or anything –she had already been lost before. Hell, it wasn't like he had her to begin with, he tried to convince himself bitterly._

"_I should go." He merely stated in the darkness, handing Mikoto back the child._

"_Will I see you again?" Mikoto questioned him as he turned around, unable to see the hurt in his eyes._

"_It's best we don't."_

_There was an empty silence as Mikoto seized up the situation. After this, no longer would she see her boy. After this, he would once again be an enemy of the Leaf, and an enemy to her, at least until the time that Sakura returns to her time. "…I'm very proud of you, Itachi-kun… You've been so brave." She offered her comfort, which Itachi took in with silence._

"_Hn."_

_And then he was gone._

_Mikoto knew that it would be a very long time before she saw her son again, but she didn't know that his entire childhood, or what was left of it, would be gone in a flash, and that the next time she saw him, he would be a full-fledged adult, no longer her young and cute Itachi-kun._

* * *

"_Marika-neesan… I have a task for you." Sakura began._

"_Anything Sakura-chan."_

"_It's about Shisui Uchiha…"_

"_Shisui…" A small blush grazed her features, recalling her one and only interaction with the elder Uchiha. "Yes, I remember him, but what does he have to do with anything?" she questioned, suppressing her blush._

"_Well…"_

* * *

"_Squad 13, Saki Uchiha, Tobito Inuzuka, Seiji Hyuga."_

_Saki stood and walked towards the front of the classroom, where she met her new teammates, now officially branded –proudly, might I add, with a Genin headband. She was two years younger than all of her classmates, having excelled to the point that she was able to graduate early (of course, this was thanks to her Sharingan, but even then her skill shown behind it all)._

_Her teammate, Seiji Hyuuga as she recalled, gave her a small nod of acknowledgement while the Inuzuka gave her a sloppy grin. "I just knew we were going to be on the same team Saki!" Tobito exclaimed loudly._

"_You can thank the fact that you're at the bottom of the class." The Hyuga snorted quietly._

"_What'd you say?!" Tobito growled._

_Saki, attempting to defuse the situation, ignored both their antics. "Do you guys know who our sensei is?"_

"_No idea!" Tobito replied quickly, putting his attention back on Saki._

"_I heard they were still debating on it. They really wanted Hatake Kakashi, part of Team 7." The Hyuga began._

"_Sasuke-nii's team." Saki nodded in confirmation._

"_Yes, but he refuses to leave his team yet, despite the fact that they are all about to turn eighteen now and technically don't need a sensei." Seiji continued._

"_Such a shame. Seeing the Sharingan in action would have been super cool, nee, Saki-chan?" Tobito nudged Saki lightly._

"…_Hn" Saki ignored Tobito. She had truly expected Kakashi to become their new sensei, had even hoped for it, believing that with him by her side she could master the Sharingan quicker. But if he wasn't their sensei, then who could possibly-_

"_Sorry I'm late kiddos!" The door to the classroom suddenly swung open. All eyes turned towards the door as they examined their new sensei. He was relatively young, compared to all the other sensei, with jet black hair and ridiculous hot pink eyes._

"_Hiroto-senpai?!" Saki's eyes widened slightly as she looked him up and down, confirming that it was in fact Hiroto Haruno, the man who had baby sat her and taken care of her since as long as she could remember. Hell, he had taught her, alongside Sasuke, how to catch and throw kunai, and what the basic ninja techniques were (this had been a prime reason, alongside her naturally honed abilities and skills, that she was able to skip two grades in the academy and graduate early)._

"_It's Hiroto-sensei now Saki." He winked as he approached them, placing a soft hand on her head as he ruffled her straight black locks._

"_Why didn't you tell me sooner that you would be my sensei?" she questioned._

_Hiroto let out a leisurely shrug as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "It hadn't been decided until just a few hours ago, to be truthful."_

_Before Saki could continue their conversation, Seiji Hyuga scoffed, as if unused to such insolence –for Kami's sake, he was from the main branch of the highly-esteemed Hyuga Clan, and their sensei hadn't even given him –or the Inuzuka for that matter- a second thought._

"_Ahh, yes," Hiroto looked from Saki to the two slightly older males. "Seiji Hyuga and Tobito Inuzuka, correct?" he pointed at each of them respectively._

_At the mention of their names, they each gave a curt nod._

_Hiroto examined them for several seconds, the Hyuga returning his gaze level-headedly while the Inuzuka tried his best to not squirm under his gaze. Until just a few seconds ago, the Inuzuka was casually leaning on one of the desks, almost as if bored, whereas the Hyuga was looking at him with a small twitch in his eyes, almost as if annoyed and thinking _'And I need to be seen around this dog-breathed idiot'._ Hiroto cracked a grin. "Welcome to Squad 13." This wouldn't be all that bad, he decided. Hell, it would sure beat having watch duty at the post three times a week._

* * *

_Marika looked around. This __**looked**__ like the right place, she supposed. Unfortunately, she couldn't exactly ask for directions, for that would bring on unwanted attention and she didn't want to scare off the poor guy, if what Sakura had told her was true._

'_Alright Marika, she said it's a dark green little thing with a tiny flower pot by the window sill, you can do this.'_

_Surprisingly, it had been easier to find said little cottage than she had expected. Then again, the village wasn't exactly the biggest, and there had only been a handful of dark green houses. She found the flower pot, and with very little effort, fished out a key from somewhere within the soil._

"You will enter the home, don't worry, only Shisui and I know where the key is located, and you will greet him and explain to him what has occurred, and what I tell you now."

_And so she wiggled they key into the key hole, satisfied when a little 'click' unlocked the door and she entered it warily. "H-Hello?" she peered through the door, entering hesitantly. She couldn't hear anyone inside, and it felt like she was breaking in. "S-Sorry for intruding! I come under Sakura's orders…!"_

_But she soon found the cottage to be completely empty. _

_Was this normal?_

_Marika supposed she would wait a while before deeming this hopeless –where else would Shisui be anyhow? He was probably out grocery shopping or something; that had to be it. So she found what was meant to be the living room of the area, identifiable only by the low square table centered around the room, and two small cushions placed across from each other. Naturally, she sat herself on one of them and waited patiently, noticing how he hadn't even bothered completing the set and getting four cushions instead of two. This meant he never planned on having visitors, and this place… this __**hideout **__of sorts was strictly meant for meeting with Sakura and nothing else. Putting this thought in the back of her head, she gave a small sigh as she looked around the room, bored, waiting for Shisui to return._

_Which, apparently didn't have to be very long, because right around the fifth minute of waiting, she suddenly found her back against the bamboo floor boards, a man hovering above her, and a kunai pressed to her throat._

_Irritatingly, Marika couldn't help but think that Sakura had not warned her that Shisui would be a paranoid arse. But that thought was tucked to the deepest and furthest recesses of her mind as she began to panic, Shisui pinching the kunai close enough to her neck to draw blood._

"_Who are you?" he spat venom, whispering quietly in her ear, his lips so close she could feel them on her ear. Heat quickly rose to her cheeks and the next second, with or without her willing them to, small jasmine buds sprouted from alongside her and forced Shisui off of her, momentarily catching him off guard because -holy crap there were flowers growing out of his house and he hadn't even sensed her activate a jutsu, enough for her to get a distance away from him. Momentarily paralyzed by the jasmine buds that rendered him motionless, he watched in what could almost be confusion as Marika promptly sat down and bowed to him._

"_S-Sorry for entering when you weren't even here!" Shisui blinked, once, twice. "Sakura told me it'd be okay and that you'd remember me, so it wouldn't be a problem." She looked back up to him, noticing that at the mention of Sakura, all tense muscles and looks of uneasiness went away._

"_Sakura sent you?" By this point, deeming him no longer a hazard to her life, Marika released the jasmine buds that were holding him captive._

"_H-Hai." Marika nodded. "I'm her older sister. We met before… once, in the compound, before your supposed death…" she commented a little quietly, her cheeks growing a faint pink. How could he not remember her when he had said such… crude things to her? _

_And so Shisui sat across the table from her, an elbow propped up on the table as he rested his chin on his hand, looking at her with a scrutinizing gaze. "Oh that's right!" he snapped his fingers in revelation. "You were the one wearing that cute little night gown!"_

_Marika quickly blushed and looked down in embarrassment. So he __**did **__remember, that pervert!_

_Shisui grinned a typical grin that was so characteristic of him a year or two ago, it almost surprised him how easily she had been able to bring out such a reaction from him when he hadn't dared have fun in such a long time._

"_Well Marika-chan, welcome to my humble abode, what can I do for you?"_

* * *

"_Orochimaru-sama, I have received word that the Haruno bunch no longer reside amongst the waterfall. They have taken refuge in Konoha once more."_

_Orochimaru frowned distastefully. As soon as he decided that he wanted to experiment with them, they decide to go where he could not reach them. Just great. That Haruno… whoever she had been, heir or not, had finely refined skills –skills he wanted. And meeting her –battling with her, had given him such a thrill and such a thirst for knowledge that he knew, children or not, one of them among the bunch had to be worth something. He needed to find the heir… she would be the answer to all his problems._

"_What else?" he spoke after his long thought._

"_It has been confirmed, the only survivors to the Uchiha Massacre are Sasuke Uchiha and Mikoto Uchiha. Word has it that the only reason that Mikoto survived was because of that Haruno's intervention." Kabuto spoke her name with such venom it could have almost been amusing how jealous he was._

"_Interesting." He nodded, noting that she must have had a confrontation with Itachi Uchiha –and she had survived, which was something worth noticing in the long run._

"_And I am also under suspicions that Mikoto may be with child."_

"_Oh?" Orochimaru spoke, finally intrigued with the conversation. _

"_I was too far to be able to confirm, and she has been hiding it very well, but it seems to me that she is a few months in."_

"_And what makes you say that?" Orochimaru questioned. He didn't know much about pregnancy, but he knew that women didn't start showing until later on._

"_She's been acting rather peculiar from what I could tell." Kabuto merely explained. "My theory will be confirmed in a few months, I suppose. She can't hide it forever." Orochimaru nodded in agreement. "I believe that if you seek the Sharingan eyes, that perhaps the best opportunity would be to-"_

"_The Sharingan is no longer of interest to me." Orochimaru silenced him. "I want that heir to Haruno Clan, and I want her Flower Eye."_

* * *

_"Did you hear?! There are a group of Harunos' approaching the village!"_

_"What? No way! I thought they were all wiped out."_

_"Apparently they were hiding, in fear of threats to the Village."_

_"They're being escorted back now by Hatake Kakashi, so I've heard."_

_Sakura hesitantly but quickly walked, her little feet carrying her as fast as they could, her heart thumping in her little body. No. It couldn't be. She had watched them all perish; watched them all die right in front of her, every last one of them. It wouldn't be fair to get her hopes up; not now, when she was slowly starting to come to terms with reality. When she was beginning to think she could move on. Her heart would break, she was sure, if this had somehow just been a sham. But everyone was saying it; hell, even the Hokage had confirmed it, right in front of her. There was no way this couldn't be real._

_"Whoa there my child, we're all eager to see them, slow down. This old man can't keep up with you little ones anymore."_

_Sakura turned around with a pout. "Hurry up ji-chan! They'll be hear any minute now!"_

_And even though all the villagers and shinobi alike had carved a straight path for the Hokage, being pulled by the hand by Sakura, he walked with much patience and ease up to the front gates. Upon his arrival, just around the horizon, six black figures could clearly be seen walking towards the gates, and the tension in the air was enough for Sakura to hide herself behind the Hokage's cloak. _

_This was the moment of truth._

_Closer and closer they came, but Sakura still had her eyes shut, hiding behind the Hokage, gripping his cloak in fear that she wouldn't recognize a single one of the people that would soon be entering the village._

_"For someone who was so excited, you seem to not want to watch their approach." The Hokage smiled warmly, all too aware of the emotions she was probably feeling._

_"What if they don't recognize me or they don't want to be a family again?"_

_The Hokage chuckled, knowing that Sakura had absolutely nothing to worry about._

_"Here they come! Look, I can see Kakashi Hatake's figure from here!" A random villager called out._

_And soon enough they were upon the entrance, the Hokage standing proudly and humbly. "The village of Konoha welcomes you all most humbly, Haruno-san."_

_"We are thankful to be welcomed with such open arms, Hokage-sama."_

_Sakura's eyes snapped wide open. She recognized that voice -she knew it well, in fact. She didn't even need confirmation, suddenly brave enough to peer past the Hokage's cloak and stare at the six people before her. There was Kakashi, the ninja that escorted them there, and then..._

_And then was Hiroto, and Marika and Himawari, and happiness flooded her soul._

_She hurriedly ran past the Hokage, a flurry of emotions running through her body. "Hiroto-nii! Marika-neechan! Himawari-chan!" She couldn't stop the tears that were flowing from her eyes, nor did she think she even wanted to. She hadn't been this happy since... well, she couldn't quite remember the last time she felt so elated, but she knew that the feeling she felt now would be incomparable to anything she would ever experience for the rest of her life._

_She had family._

_And she didn't care that people were staring at her, or that they were murmuring things like "Who is she?" or "Is she another Haruno?", because she was being enveloped by a warm hug, a hug from Hiroto, and a hug from her family._

_"Sakura-chan." Hiroto smiled warmly at her, kneeling down to welcome her hug._

_It could have been seconds, it could have been hours, he wasn't entirely sure. But after some time, Sakura looked up at him, tears still in her eyes, but her smile as warm and bright as ever. "Welcome home."_

* * *

Sakura didn't know what it was that she should expect. Would she even be able to go back to her own timeline? She didn't know, but she had to try. As much as she had grown to love Mikoto and little Sasuke and even Saki, her goddaughter, she simply did not belong in this timeline. She wanted her friends. She wanted Ino, and she wanted Naruto, and hell, she wanted Tsunade and she even missed stupid Neji and his one-syllabled responses.

Sakura once again found herself in an all-white expanse, one which she had grown familiar with since her experiences with time-travel. "Matsuro-sama." She declared loudly, calling out to her God.

Sakura was not disappointed, as a few seconds later, Matsuro emerged, seemingly out of nowhere. "Sakura." She greeted with a small smile.

"It's time that I go back." Sakura began. "I have done all I can here, and I must see what I have been able to change with my efforts."

"Yes." Matsuro agreed. "And I can make this happen, but there is a bit of a complication…"

Sakura raised an eyebrow curiously. "Complication?" she questioned.

"Nothing too serious. The problem is, I cannot just throw you back to your present time. It is easy to bring someone back, not so much to bring them forward, especially not after things have changed drastically." Matsuro explained.

Sakura nodded. "So what happens now?" she questioned.

"You will remain here, part of a different dimension all together. Time does not flow here, so you will not age, but you must wait as the past catches up to your present. Unfortunately, it will take a while… Not as long as you'd expect, but it will take time."

"That's fine." Sakura nodded. This was not a big sacrifice at all. Sure, boredom was bound to ensue, but at least she had time to unravel her thoughts and see how the world she had lived in would now be changed because of her. "I'm ready to start whenever you are, Matsuro-sama." Sakura nodded.

"Very well… you'll feel a bit dizzy, for I must absorb some of your chakra for this." With a nod of confirmation, Sakura braced herself as she began feeling her chakra slowly being sapped from her body.

Only time would tell what she had accomplished in the past.

**End of Chapter (Prologue)**

**So the point of this chapter was to show you guys little snippets of what Sakura had changed due to her staying in the past, as well as some things that are crucial to know for the plot development later on. Note that this chapter will not contain all of the flashbacks –they will be brought up from chapter to chapter, depending on whether I deem them necessary to contribute to the development of the plot, or of its characters. But overall, I will try to not make so many flashbacks, for they tend to kind of throw off the flow of the story/chapter.**

**Questions? Concerns? Comments? Critiques? **

**Leave em all here! Any and all reviews are much appreciated!**

**P.S. I know this chapter was significantly shorter than what my average chapter was, but do not fear, this was done so because it is a PROLOGUE, and the chapters from here on out will be averaging 8-10 thousand words.**

**That is all!**

**-MarzSpy**


	2. And Time Goes On

**Hey! I'm back with the new chapter! The feedback and support for the sequel was slightly over-whelming, so here's a new chapter, a smidge longer than usual to make up for the short prologue last chapter ^.^ **

**More A/N after the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form.**

**Chapter 2: And Times Goes On**

'_**-kura…'**_

'_**Sakura, wake up…'**_

'…_**Sakura!'**_

Sakura abruptly opened her eyes, her senses as alert as ever, her eyes already searching for any possible danger that she could be in, no thanks to her shinobi training, and perhaps also the perilous situations she had constantly been put through while in the past.

Wait a second, where was she?

Sakura looked around. Lush green forests, mossy boulders, high trees and visible Hokage Mountains from a distance. She looked at them reminiscently, almost looking out in awe at the sheer size of the rock structures. The face of the first, second and third getting a bit worn, the Yondaime, Minato, looking on proudly at his village, and alongside him the Godaime, their very own Slug Princess Tsunade…

..._  
_

'_Tsunade?!' _Sakura couldn't help but break out in glee, a wide grin appearing on her face almost immediately, figuring out what this meant. She had done it.

Sakura got up quickly, examining her physique. No longer was she in the body of a thirteen year old. She was now eighteen, and _'Kami I have my boobs back!' _she held back a squeal. No, not because she really loved her boobs or anything, but because she really, _really _loved being back in her own timeline, and she loved being her own age, and she loved the thought of finally being around people that she had known since childhood.

'_**I am glad that you are excited about being back Sakura.' **_She could hear Matsuro's inner musings. But she didn't care if Matsuro was teasing her or making fun of her for acting so childishly –she was home. _Home. _She was home to her Naruto and her Ino-pig and her Tsunade-shishou, and hell, she even missed Kakashi-sensei –_her sensei. Not her teammate. And Sasuke. 'Sasuke would be here too', _she remembered, and it made her all the more anxious to go back home and not just see how things had developed, but to _live it_.

She was ready to take back her life.

'_**Before you get too excited about rushing back home, I would like you to take into account how long you've been away.'**_Matsuro's reminder snapped Sakura back to reality for the slightest of moments, knowing fully well that in this timeline, she had not spent nearly a year and a half being away.

'_Oh that's right…' _Sakura frowned slightly. She knew the future, her present, would keep spinning while she was away, but she knew this to be a small sacrifice compared to everything she had gained in the past. Knowledge, skill, friendships, the list went on. _'How long have I been gone?' _Sakura questioned.

'_**You are have been gone four mounts, nearing your fifth month gone, Sakura.'**_

For having stayed over a year in the past, she supposed that this hadn't been so bad, but she was eager to finally get back to her friends, and so with that thought in mind, she took off to the place that she knew to be home in speeds she hadn't bothered running in in a long time.

* * *

"SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSUKKKKKKKKKEEEEEEEEEEEEE-TEEEEMEEEE!"

Before Sasuke had any time to even _try_ to avoid the loud and obnoxious blonde, he was storming through his house, barging through the front door and running towards his current location in the dining room as if he owned the place (which he didn't -Sakura did).

"You're awful loud this morning Naruto-kun."

"Ohayo Mikoto-kaasan!" Naruto greeted fairly quickly with a bow upon his arrival to the dining room, before he returned his attention back on Sasuke without much thought, wrapping his arm around the boy's neck, as per usual to his annoying perks. "Sasuke!" he bellowed once more, straight into the raven-haired male's ear, much to his great chagrin.

"I am right here Naruto. No need to yell." He glared, promptly shoving the blonde away from him with as much force as he could use without having his mother reprimand him for being so tough. And here he had been, hoping to have a quiet and relaxing breakfast with his family, but nooooooo, not possible with the blonde here; hell, it was _never possible _with Naruto as a teammate, he couldn't help but think with a grimace.

"But you don't understand Sasuke-teme!" he exaggerated, extending the "teme" part, and Sasuke could swear it was only done to piss him off further, as Naruto once more clung to Sasuke's shoulder, seemingly unaffected by the Uchiha's mean actions. Sasuke couldn't help but wince as his ear was once again bombarded by Naruto's all too-loud voice. "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND...!" he repeated once more, as if, by saying it twice, Sasuke would understand that the news he was about to share was better than anything Sasuke could ever hear in his entire life.

"Tch." Sasuke made a sound in the back of his throat as he, once again, shoved Naruto away from him and tried to concentrate on his breakfast.

"Oh come on Sasuke-teme, don't you want to _understand_?" he said with emphasis, a small frown on his face at the usual cold-ness of his best friend.

"I'm sure he'd understand everything he needed to if you'd just tell him what you know Naruto-kun." Mikoto gave a light laugh, never growing annoyed of Naruto's silly antics, probably because he was one of the few people that was ever able to elicit some form of emotion from her son.

Naruto nodded, pausing for a few seconds to catch his breath (he did, after all, run all the way here from the Hokage tower, all the while shouting "Sasuke-teme!", as if he'd be able to hear him all the way from the Hokage tower, before he opened his mouth widely. "Sakura-chan's back from her mission! Dattebayo!"

At the mention, Mikoto couldn't help but let her silverware slip from her hand and fall on her plate with a small clang, an act which had Sasuke raise a delicate eyebrow, but he dismissed it, being too preoccupied with the obnoxious blonde before him to question if his mother was okay. "That's good." He stated calmly, returning to his breakfast calmly.

"Please try and contain your enthusiasm." Naruto remarked sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. "We've known her for over five years now, I _know_ you're excited to have her back and you just don't want to admit it." Naruto teased with a toothy grin.

At said comment, Sasuke furled his eyebrows, a small tint of pink covering his cheeks as he punched Naruto's head. "Pfft. What would you know, Naruto no baka" He briskly got up, placing his empty plate on the sink of the kitchen, before returning back to the dining room and then heading towards the door of the household, mentally wishing that Naruto wasn't so good at reading him.

From the sidelines, Mikoto couldn't help but think how cute Sasuke's embarrassment was, but had no time to linger on such a thought, still too distracted by the mention of Sakura's arrival.

"Where are you going Sasuke-teme?" Naruto questioned, rubbing his head tenderly as he watched Sasuke's retreating figure.

"To go greet Sakura, Naruto no Baka." He didn't even look back. "I'll be back in a bit, Okaa-san."

"H-Hai… Bring Sakura with you!" Mikoto bellowed after him. "Don't think for a second that he'll wait up for you Naruto-kun." She commented, watching as Naruto just watched his retreating figure with a grin, almost as if reveling over the satisfaction he felt when proving Sasuke a total mush deep down inside.

"Right! See, I knew he had a soft spot for Sakura! Anyway, I'll see you later Mikoto-kaa!" And so Naruto was quick to run out the door he had just come in through, leaving Mikoto alone in the dining room.

"So… she's finally back…" she thought out loud to herself after a while of pondering, momentarily thinking that there _was _a reason that he had a soft spot for Sakura. It was because she reminded him so, so very much of Sakura-neechan… Little did he know that she was in fact Sakura-neechan, though. But, she supposed, it would only be a matter of time before that, as well as other things, were finally revealed to him.

Time was finally moving forward once more…

Now that Sakura was back, Mikoto could entrust the safety of her boy to her, and Sakura could plan out what the next move would be. _And what would that move be, exactly_, Mikoto couldn't help but wonder.

Well, she sincerely hoped somewhere along the lines, it meant having her son back -her other son, the older but just as precious one, that one that sacrificed everything for her and her two other children. _'Itachi-kun…'_ There had never been a day that passed that Mikoto didn't think about him, or of his bravery, and there never was a day that Mikoto wasn't worried sick over how it was that he was fairing in the cruel rogue world. There was also not a day where she wasn't constantly reminded that this was all her fault, and all Fugaku's fault, and it pushed her all the more to make sure that, at least, she could make sure Saki and Sasuke had brighter futures than Itachi had. Before Mikoto could continue her train of thought, she was snapped out of her thoughts by a sudden voice.

"Who's finally back?"

Mikoto adverted her gaze towards the entrance to the hallway.

"Sakura is." Mikoto responded with a small smile. "You should finish getting dressed so you can greet her properly when Sasuke and Naruto come back with her, Saki-chan."

"Hai Okaa-san!"

And so Saki turned around on her heel, quickly running towards her room to get dressed. _'I get to see Sakura-neesama!' _she smiled brightly. It had been too long, she was sure. Heck, even Sasuke had been quick to dismiss himself all for the sake of greeting Sakura, which was saying something, for Sasuke _never_ went out of his way to go greet people.

After having dismissed Saki, Mikoto decided that perhaps she should brew some tea, if Sakura still wished to discuss the massacre with Sasuke the very same day she came back. It had, after all, been her idea to do so.

'_Better to come straight out and say it than hold our tongues and wait until Sasuke finds out on his own and feels betrayed by not only his nation, but his family as well.' _These words, stated by Sakura eleven years ago were very, very true, but still... Mikoto's heart clenched slightly. Who's to say Sasuke wouldn't feel betrayed now? How would he take the news? Mikoto had always hoped this day would never come, but with each and every passing day, knew it was inevitable. Knew it had to be done, not just for Sasuke's sake but for Itachi's as well.

And so with this thought in mind, she headed towards the kitchen, hoping that some tea would help to ease the inevitable tension to come.

* * *

"Tsunade-shishou" Sakura bowed respectfully, staring up at a familiar face she hadn't seen in ages.

"S-Sakura!" Tsunade stuttered quickly, looking around her cluttered desk, trying her best to look a little more presentable. Instead of trying to see Sakura past her mountains of stacks of paper, she decided instead to stand up abruptly and walk around her desk, throwing her arms around the pink-haired kunoichi.

"I'm so glad… I wasn't entirely sure I'd see you return…" the embrace was a little too close to bone crushing for Sakura's comfort, but she returned it nonetheless, having missed her blonde, busty mentor more than she would ever admit.

"Neither was I…" her comment was but a whisper, but Tsunade heard it nonetheless. "But more importantly, how do you remember me…? Sending me to the past, and everything… that wouldn't have happened in this timeline…" Sakura questioned. She had actually thought this through, while in her time in Matsuro's separate dimension. If Sakura had changed some aspects of the future, would Tsunade ever have sent Sakura on a mission to the past? Furthermore, how would she remember that she did?

"Fortunately, those which knew of your mission in the past remain with their knowledge of said present and re-made present. Plus, a jutsu to protect our memories as a safeguard doesn't hurt either." Tsunade explained, withdrawing her arms from the pinkette and shuffling towards a nearby window sill, where she motioned Sakura to sit with her.

"Our?" Sakura questioned, wondering who it was that Tsunade confided in.

Sakura's question was shortly answered through the figure that ran through the door though. "Sakura!" And she was none too gently crushed by another woman, this one not as blonde nor busty.

"Shizune, you're crushing me!" Sakura tried her best not to gasp for air.

"Gomen," Shizune quickly withdrew, "It's just that, it had been so long, and since Tsunade mentioned you may never come back… well… I had a right to worry, alright?!" Shizune blushed slightly at her previous discomposure.

And before they could even continue this conversation, from a distance, they heard a quiet but definitely noticeable "SAKURA-CHAN~~!"

Tsunade sighed, aggravated at how quickly Naruto was able to sniff out Sakura's arrival -that nose of his was too keen for its own good. "Shizune, do us a favor and shut the door behind you and tell Naruto he may not, under any circumstances, come in until Sakura and I are done speaking.

"Of course Tsunade-sama." Shizune quickly bowed, gave Sakura a quick smile, and then hurriedly exited the room before Naruto could complain that if Shizune had gotten to see Sakura, then Naruto naturally had a right to do the same as her best friend and future Hokage (and future husband, he added in his head).

"I won't take too much of your time Sakura, as I'm sure you're itching to get back to your life in this timeline, but I have to ask... what happened? After you told me about the Coup and the Elders, I didn't receive a word from you. And then I come to the village after the Third's death and come to find Mikoto with a child. Of course, it wouldn't be until years later that I discover that, in our timeline, Mikoto had never been pregnant…" Tsunade began.

Sakura sat in silence for a few moments, trying to figure out where to begin. "I realized... the coup d'état was inevitable. Trying to prevent it was just a way to create a full-blown Civil War so quickly after the Shinobi World War that it would have left Konoha in ruins..." Sakura began. Tsunade nodded in understanding, and Sakura continued. "The only way to prevent it would have been to silence not just Fugaku, but the Uchiha Elders as well, and by the time Fugaku finally understood what he was doing, it was much too late..." Sakura swallowed the lump in her throat. "Regardless of whether or not the Uchiha had ceased their plans of rebelling, Danzo was dead set on their elimination, fearing that his power would be put in jeopardy due to the growing power and popularity of the Uchiha name. And... well... as for Itachi's agenda, I never could tell..." Sakura sighed slightly. "We had been teammates... Friends even, I would dare to call us… but on the day of the Massacre he attempted to take my life... he damn well would have, if not for the quick thinking of Inner; or as I had learned her to be, Kikyou."

"K-Kikyou?" Tsunade stammered –of course she had heard the legend of Kikyou, and if what Sakura was saying was true, then Itachi had truly meant to kill her.

"H-Hai... I am her reincarnation, after all... It seemed only fitting she live her life through me, it seemed... But let's put all that aside for now; it's irrelevant." Sakura shook her head, getting distracted from the original topic at hand. "Even back then, Itachi was too strong for me to over-power, but I was able to stall him long enough to not get the chance to finish off Mikoto." Sakura stated. "Although, there are some things that have been bothering me about the Uchiha Massacre..."

"And that being?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow, curious.

"Well..." And so Sakura began explaining about the masked figure that had attacked her with skills even she hadn't seen or heard of since Minato Namikaze, and said masked stranger nearly burning her to a crisp with an Amaterasu, and having her suspicions of the aforementioned being the same person in the Akatsuki now. And after everything was said and done, Tsunade had to sit there in silence as she thought this over. "I'll get Jiraiya on this immediately..."

Sakura hesitated with her words. "I fear Jiraiya might find himself overwhelmed if he tries to dig too deep..." She stared from the outskirts of the village into Tsunade's perplexed and seemingly wary eyes. "We know not of what he is capable of, but if Itachi feared him back then, there is a reason to steer clear from him until we know his true motives and intentions, and of his true identity, for that matter."

"Jiraiya knows what he's doing." Tsunade rejected the notion.

"If you're really willing to put him at risk of going up against something we don't know, by all means... If not, I say wait it out and let things unravel slowly until we have enough knowledge to know Jiraiya can handle himself."

And it was true, because if this Tobi character, true to Sakura's words, was actually a bigger threat than they could even begin to foresee, he would have even more contacts than Jiraiya did -and if he was found asking too many questions and sticking his nose where it didn't belong, it would surely mean trouble not just for him, but for the village as well, for if Tobi ever caught whiff of it, he'd know that _they _had him under suspicions, which may result in him speeding up his plans before Konoha, or any of the other villages for that matter, had enough time to prepare.

And so Tsunade closed her mouth once more and acknowledged that perhaps Sakura was the one that she should be listening to -she had, after all, just come back with a years worth of knowledge from the past under her belt. "Hai" Tsunade gave a curt nod -as much confidence as she had in Jiraiya's abilities, she simply cared too much about that pervy oaf to actually put him in harms way. "What are your plans now?" she questioned instead.

Sakura paused at this question, taking her time to think about the words she wanted to say. "Mikoto and I have discussed revealing the truth behind the massacre to Sasuke before I returned to this timeline... Even after much thought and consideration, I still believe this to be the best alternative. Itachi, regardless of his motives for killing me, is not an enemy to Konoha. I'm sure you know that now." Sakura allowed herself the briefest of pauses in order to wait for Tsunade's nod of confirmation, before continuing. "It is crucial that Sasuke know this immediately, and that we try all in our power to clear Itachi's name. It is what Mikoto would want, and I know deep down inside that Itachi would appreciate it too... It may eventually lead to him rejoining our side." Sakura explained.

"Clearing his name would be a flat out statement against the Elders, which I am sure would cause such a great commotion that civil unrest would break." Tsunade shook her head in disapproval. "If and when we clear his name, it will have to be at a later date when we have plans underway. Currently, we have much more we need to preoccupy ourselves with, primarily Akatsuki and fortifying our bonds with Suna once more before we can even think about focusing on Itachi's innocence."

**(A/N: The whole Suna thing will be explained in a later chapter, hopefully within the next two, so just keep it in mind but don't let it bother you too much. Keep in mind Sakura was able to see most of the things that went on after her time in the past, so she has a pretty good idea of what it is Tsunade is talking about)**

Sakura nodded. "I understand… but about telling Sasuke the truth...?"

Tsunade paused momentarily to think this through. "I believe that when it comes to this... Mikoto and you probably know what would be best to do. Now that we can confirm Itachi's loyalty and innocence, I have no right to deny this information from Sasuke, who as I have deemed him, is loyal to his village. And I agree that it is best he find out now from us than later when circumstances don't put us in a very good position, if it ever occurs. We have to play our cards right; it'll be the only thing that will give us an upper hand in the months that follow."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama." Sakura bowed. "I will be excusing myself for the time being, then. Telling Sasuke is first and foremost my biggest priority as of now."

Tsunade nodded, responding with a simple "Good luck", which she was sure Sakura would need if she truly planned on explaining everything to Sasuke today. "If I have any more questions, I know where to find you."

Sakura gave a curt nod as she prepared herself to leave, walking towards the door to Tsunade's office. Before Sakura even opened the door to the room, she could hear Naruto's faint howls of disapproval. With a sigh and a grin from ear to ear, Sakura gripped the door knob, twisted, and pulled.

"-It's not fair!"

"Dobe, shut up, obviously she has to report to the Hokage."

"I know you're eager to see her too Sasuke-teme!"

"Hn"

She couldn't help but sigh inwardly, wondering how long it had been since she had to suffer through one of their antics. It had easily been over five years, and just being able to see Sasuke, home, _in Konoha, _all grown up and being the Sasuke that she remembered and had once given her heart to, made her heart tighten and clench uncomfortably.

But not in a I-still-love-you sort of way, more in like a I-have-dreamed-of-having-you-home-for-so-long that-now-I-am-afraid-of-having-that-ripped-away-from-me sort of way. But hell, that didn't just apply to Sasuke. Her very own Naruto was still being targeted by the organization pursuing world domination. He was still in danger, and hell, she wasn't even sure if she had made things any better for him, despite the fact that he had been a big reason –other than Sasuke, for her going to the past.

"If you buffoons would stop fighting you'd have noticed she's already out." Shizune's comment had left three different pairs of eyes on Sakura, who just stood there awkwardly, giving them an awkward sort of half-smile.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned such a goofy grin that it brought instant tears to Sakura's eyes, having relief wash over her as she instantly felt at home. Home… it's funny, because years ago, she would have never thought that Naruto always meant home for her –but he did. He was a little brother, a big brother, a teacher, a student, and a form of father figure all at once to her, and she couldn't even explain how. It probably had to do with the fact that, other than Kakashi, he had been the only male that had constantly been in her life, a controlled variable she could always depend on and look to for comfort.

"Tch. Idiot. You made her cry." Sasuke said, lazily almost, slapping Naruto's head in what could be seen as a playful manner, although Sakura could tell that he was actually irritated, call it either her intuition, or perhaps it had just been that she had spent so much time with Sasuke-chan that she already knew his quirks and perks.

Knowing it was no use trying to wipe her tears away, for they would only be replaced by other ones, she settled for running to her boys and embracing them in a bear hug. "I've missed you guys so much!"

"We missed you too Sakura-chan." Naruto grinned, returning the hug, although he looked at Sasuke questioningly. "Nee, when did Sakura-chan get so emotional?"

Sasuke, too manly and stoic to return the hug, let himself be crushed by her raw power, merely giving a small sigh, a slight flush of embarrassment appearing on his features. "Beats me."

"I feel like it's been forever." Sakura commented, her face buried somewhere in between Naruto's neck and Sasuke's own. Because in all actuality, it had. She had spent over a year and a half in the past, and who knows how long being a sitting duck while she allowed time to catch up to her. She had nearly forgotten what one of Naruto's hugs felt like, and not to mention right in front of her was Sasuke, allowing himself to be hugged by her. How could she _not _cry, feeling such overwhelming emotions? It had simply been too long.

And maybe, just maybe, Naruto and Sasuke felt the same, but they had been too embarrassed to admit it because usually Sakura would make fun of them for it. They were glad, at least, that they hadn't been the first ones to say it, or express it, for that matter.

"Okaa-san wants you to go home and greet her." Sasuke commented after what could have been a good two or three minutes of letting her cry on their shoulders, almost as if saying "stop hugging me before people see me and think they can hug me too." Because clearly, this was an act reserved to only Sakura and Saki, the only two females he had ever warmed up to or gotten remotely close to.

Giving a small laugh, Sakura released them and wiped away her tears. "H-Hai"

And as they began walking, both her boys on either side of her, as if they had been walking like this all their life (which they probably had), Sakura was hit by a thought.

Holy crap.

She lives with Sasuke-kun.

The thought, were she still fifteen and completely in love with Sasuke, would have left her with a nose bleed as she proceeded to pass out at the thought.

Now, well, she just thought it kind of strange. Then again, she supposed she quite literally had no one to blame for the way things ended for her other than herself.

Promptly after Sakura had asked for the remaining Harunos' to relocate back to Konoha, they made their living accommodations in the Haruno Clan, as was typical. But, when making such plans, they had decided that little Sakura-chan had to stay with them –or rather, it was Sakura, both of them to be exact, that urged and pushed for this living arrangement.

And because Hiroto was still too young to take care of children and Mikoto had personally taken it upon herself to care for the same person that had saved her life, along with her family, Sakura had ended up staying in the Haruno main household, along with Sasuke, Mikoto, and Marika. Hiroto, Himawari, Sayuri, and Daichi, had all taken residence at Hiroto and Himawari's old house, right down the street from where Mikoto and co. currently resided. Mikoto would make a dinner for eight each day, they would all eat and hang out there, but when night came they went back to their separate houses.

They were a tight-knit make-shift family, and ironically enough, they had become the sister clans that they had originally been made to be, helping each other out and standing alongside each other through thick and thin.

And well, apparently this tradition had not wavered over the years, seeing as everybody still lived exactly where they had before, with a few minuscule changes. Promptly after turning eighteen, Daichi and Sayuri moved out of the house with Hiroto and Himawari, deciding to share a home in the Haruno Compound still around the corner. Marika, now 24, had also moved out and now rented her own apartment outside of the compound, but still came around every day for company and food, and even slept there from time to time; she still had a room filled with clothes and the like, but wanting to feel a little more independent, also got her own pad.

Hiroto, now an old bag at 27, remained in the same house down the street from Sakura alongside Himawari, who, from what Sakura could recall from watching the changing times, had been thinking about moving out as well just for the hell of it.

Letting Sakura's thoughts run a muck, she didn't even notice it when they had entered the Haruno Compound, and she noted with much glee, that the estate was prospering nicely since she had last left it. Maybe all it had ever really needed was a bit more of the Haruno touch –and with Sayuri, Marika, Himawari and herself staying at the compound, the plants and trees naturally began prospering too, although they could probably afford to lay off the dependency on their kekkai genkai and plant some variety, seeing as most of everything spotted was lilies and Sakura trees and sunflowers and jasmines.

"Where's Hiroto at?" Sakura questioned, deciding that perhaps she should sit down with her clan and organize her thoughts, now that they were all once more united, under the same Konoha insignia, and that she was finally caught up to date with the events of the past.

"I'm pretty sure he's training his team right now. Minus Saki-chan, of course." Naruto explained.

"Huh?" Sakura questioned.

"They're practicing walking on water. Saki learned that two years ago." Sasuke merely elaborated, not hiding the pride that leaked from his voice at the mention.

Sakura laughed, loving the way Sasuke's character had developed. Although he was still stoic and didn't care too much for formalities, he was definitely a lot more social and had even developed an aniki rivalry with Hiroto, because he refused to believe that Hiroto was teaching Saki more than Sasuke was; it had become a regular battle between the two, actually, seeing who was teaching Saki the most –her extremely skilled and uber cool older brother, or the old fart Hiroto (as Sasuke liked to see them as, anyway). "So Saki is home right now, then?"

"Hai. Marika is currently on a mission, and Himawari is having lessons with Tsunade, I do believe, if you were wondering Sakura-chan." Naruto yawned slightly, placing his hands over his head.

"Oh… I see." Sakura nodded in confirmation, suddenly becoming extremely self-conscious as the Haruno main household became in sight, just a block away. _'It's now or never Sakura.' _She frowned distastefully, something Sasuke didn't fail to notice, but he decided not to question her for now.

* * *

"Okaa-san we're home!" Sasuke shouted upon their entrance to the house.

"I'm in the living room!" Mikoto called back from her location in the house, finishing the last touches of the tea that she had just served.

Team 7 took off their shoes and approached said living room, where they saw Saki and Mikoto lounging around the tatami mats, Mikoto patiently sipping her tea while Saki lay flat on her back, impatiently waiting for Sakura's return. Upon seeing Sakura's figure, of course upside down from her location, she grinned and hurriedly got on her feet. "Sakura-oneesama!" she greeted, lunging towards the pinkette with such force that Sakura had almost been taken down with her.

Sakura laughed gingerly, not missing the way Sasuke's eye twitched irritably (Why wasn't _he_ ever acknowledged as Sasuke-oniisama? It wasn't fair… And just because he couldn't destroy mountains with his fists didn't mean he wasn't equally as cool as Sakura, but whatever… Pffft. Sakura was lame compared to him, he decided childishly).

"You sure have grown Saki-chan." Sakura smiled.

"You've only been gone for four months Sakura." Saki laughed.

"Yeah well, it seems like just yesterday that I was holding you when you were but a baby." Sakura grinned, and only her and Mikoto actually understood that it probably was quite literally yesterday for Sakura, as far as time jump goes.

"Saki, sit down, so we can all catch up properly." Mikoto said, and with a small sigh, Saki complied to the wishes of her mother as they all settled down around the low table, tea placed in front of each of them.

"How was your mission Sakura-chan?" Naruto questioned with relative ease.

"It was… umm… eventful." Sakura didn't really know how else to describe it.

"Did ya make any friends?" Saki questioned eagerly.

Sakura laughed. "Quite a handful, actually… They were a lot like Naruto and Sasuke."

"Pffft. No one can be as cool as me." Naruto proclaimed loudly.

"I highly doubt that." Sasuke scoffed slightly. Although he wasn't one for conversation, he never turned down a chance to insult Naruto.

Naruto, opting to ignore Sasuke, knowing that Mikoto would castrate him if he broke anything, decided to speak once more. "Why did your mission take so long anyway Sakura-chan?"

"I uhh…" Sakura hesitated for several seconds.

"She can't give you details about her mission, you know that Naruto." Mikoto cut in after noticing Sakura was hesitating.

"Yeah, but still." Naruto pouted slightly. His best friend was gone for nearly five months –he had a right to know why.

"Well, we all missed you very much Sakura." Mikoto smiled a bright smile at her.

"I missed you all as well." Sakura admitted, returning the smile.

And then an awkward silence erupted, Naruto, Sasuke and Saki expecting Sakura and Mikoto to go at it in their usual weird and bubbly conversations like usual, but for once both were oddly quiet and hesitant to speak.

And as if on queue, Mikoto and Sakura looked at each other, hesitantly almost, and squirmed under the gazes of Naruto and Saki, and in particular Sasuke.

"Nee, Naruto, would you mind taking Saki and showing her something outside for a while?" Mikoto began. "There's… something we need to discuss with Sasuke-kun…" she began.

Although Naruto was curious, he had learned to never question Mikoto, his make-shift mother, and nodded. "Alright, let's go Saki-chan! Let's teach you the rasengan!" he exclaimed proudly. He had been the only one who had yet to teach Saki a signature technique of theirs, Sakura having long taught her the basics of medical nin-jutsu and the principles to her chakra control, key to her inhuman strength, and clearly Sasuke had already gone through extensive (and successful) efforts to teach her the chidori.

"Teach her that and die." Sasuke quickly added without hesitating, although deep down inside highly curious and suspicious about what Sakura and his mother had to talk to him about –and why did it seem like it had already been planned ahead of time? Mikoto was terrible about keeping things from him, so for her to keep silent about this for over four months was slightly amazing to him.

Saki laughed, taking the hand that was offered to her by Naruto, curiously looking back. "Do you think they're making marriage arrangements Naruto-nii?"

Had Sasuke been drinking his tea he might as well have chocked on it. He settled for a twitch of his eye, a small blush slowly creeping on to his face.

"No Saki-chan, Sasuke-teme here is what one calls 'gay'. Besides, _I'm _going to marry Sakura-chan" And as soon as the words came out of his mouth, Sasuke had already pulled out a kunai, ready to aim for Naruto's head, but a dangerous spark in both Sakura and Mikoto's eyes screaming _'IF YOU DARE THROW THAT IN MY HOUSE' _had him immobilized before he could even blink once more. Kami, his mother and Sakura were so alike it scared him.

With an evil grin, Naruto snickered, turned around once more, and began walking off.

Sasuke allowed a sigh to leave his mouth as he looked around, ticked off. "Well?" He wasn't one to sit down and beat around the bush. If there was something that they needed to tell him, regardless of what it was, then they should just come right out and say it. Weren't things better than way anyway?

"Sasuke-kun, I'm sure you're going to have very many questions about what we're going to tell you…" Mikoto began slowly.

"I am relieved of my shinobi duties for the day, Okaa-san." He stated, as if assuring them that he had all the time in the world.

With a nod, Mikoto looked at Sakura. "Where do we begin?"

Sasuke raised a delicate eyebrow, unsure as to why Mikoto, for once, looked stumped and was looking to Sakura for advice. "Well, for starters Sasuke, if you call me, or Mikoto, for that matter, crazy, I am going to wring your neck _so fast._" Sakura emphasized. "You got that?"

Sasuke nodded, noting that the threat in Sakura's words were _extremely_ real, and that Sakura never threatened Sasuke like this unless she were being completely serious.

"Sasuke-kun..." Mikoto suddenly began, "you remember Sakura-oneechan, right?" Mikoto questioned tentatively, knowing that Sakura-oneechan had always been a very sensitive subject for him.

At the words, Sasuke's mood immediately darkened, something neither Mikoto nor Sakura failed to noticed. Sakura-oneechan, now that was a name he was quite familiar with; yes, he knew all about his Sakura-oneechan. The one who had saved him and his mother and his little sister. The one who had been on a team with _him _and had even lived under their roof for a long period of time. The one who suddenly disappeared without a trace, leaving Sasuke heart broken and terrified for not just him, but his family as well. Because Sakura-oneechan had been the only person who he had ever trusted completely, other than _him, _who hadn't let Sasuke down. The word around Konoha had been that she had died, but no proper memorial could ever be made for her because no body or corpse had ever been found. And slowly but surely, everyone began to forget about Sakura-oneechan, but not him, because he could never forget the second chance at life and the much needed wake-up call she had given him. "Hai… I remember Sakura-neechan…" the words sounded bitter and distasteful to him.

"Well… what if I told you that she was alive?" Sakura spoke up this time, and Sasuke looked at Sakura irritably. What would she know? She hadn't really been around at all to see her. She was seven or eight back when the Haruno Clan returned, same as him, but she had probably spent about a week under the same roof as Sakura-neechan before she had disappeared. But then she spoke once more, one simple sentence, "I never took you out for your congratulation ice cream, Sasuke-chan", and he completely lost it.

There was no way. _No..._

He could remember the days when he was thirteen, feeling like he was unstoppable when he was finally placed under his first Genin team, alongside Naruto and Sakura, and he couldn't look at Sakura straight in the face for nearly six months, not during practice, not on the field, not even at home, just because every time he did, he was rudely reminded of the fact that Sakura and Sakura-neechan looked _identical, _and he tried to convince himself, over and over in fact, that they were just clan resemblances, but it always hurt anyway. And after he got over this initial shock, he realized that, not only did they look the same, but they also had similar ways of acting as well. In fact, it was so great, that Sasuke suddenly became extremely protective of Sakura, as if, in this way, he could somehow repay Sakura-neechan for everything she had done for him and Okaa-san, and that somehow, he was a help to her, rather than just a burden, because the fear that Sakura-neechan had left them because he was too much of a burden had always been a fear he had never been able to shake.

And now here Sakura was, just...

"But how..." He couldn't even finish his sentence, too lost to even know where he was going with it. But if there was one thing he knew for certain, it was that there was _no way _Sakura could know about that ice cream, _she wasn't even there, _and not even Mikoto had known about the whole thing. So how...?

"Four months ago, I was assigned an S-Class mission, Sasuke-kun..." Sakura began, "I was assigned to... travel to the past and stop the Uchiha Massacre. Wishing primarily for Naruto's protection and a better future for you, I accepted."

Another surge of electricity ran through his body and he was left gripping his hands into fists as memories, memories he had tried so hard to block, to forget, and to erase from existence, were suddenly brought up again, all in a flurry that left him much too vulnerable for comfort.

"Unfortunately," Sakura continued, and Sasuke had no choice but to continue listening, "Tsunade-shishou sent me without much of a clue about the state of the political balance in Konoha at the time, not that she could have had any idea of what things were like there anyway, having been away from the village for so long." Sakura stated, wishing so desperately they didn't have to do this to Sasuke, but knowing that it _had _to be done.

It was Mikoto who spoke this time. "As you know, there are, or at least were, three main, prominent clans with influence and power here in Konoha; the Haruno, the Uchiha, and the Hyuga. Well, back then, the Uchiha's over-growing fame due to the Shinobi World War began to get to our heads, and we began to seek more prestige and influence over Konoha. The Hyuga, as well as the other smaller clans, such as the Inuzuku, Yamanaka, or the Nara were overwhelmingly not in favor, knowing that the Uchiha had a knack for acting selfishly and wantonly when given the opportunity to play with power. Yet, the Haruno, our sister clan, was also greatly against the Uchiha rising to power, and they were enough of a threat for the Uchiha to be submissive... that is, until Kirigakure all but wiped them out..."

Piece by piece, Sasuke was slowly beginning to understand this, but overall not getting where they were going with it.

"It took me several months before I finally understood things in Konoha," Sakura began. "And little by little, I began to discover the plot of the Uchiha to overthrow the Hokage and become the ultimate leaders..." Sasuke's eyes widened at Sakura's sudden revelation, but she did not stop there. "The third Hokage had wished for a peaceful resolve to the ever-growing tensions between the clans initially, but the Konoha Elders had other plans. They began to undermine the authority of the Uchiha and began to openly show distrust towards them, especially after the Kyuubi attack, which eventually extended to the other clans, and other shinobi and even villagers doing the same. Despite wanting more power, they had, up until things had gotten too serious, just wanted the recognition that they rightfully deserved. The elders ultimately pushed them over the edge until, eventually, they wished to retaliate with a coup d'état."

"Fugaku-kun..." Mikoto swallowed the lump in her throat as she said his name, "was the leader of the revolt, and he planned to use Itachi," she paused momentarily, noticing how Sasuke visibly got angrier at the mention of his name, "as the centerpiece to unfurl his plans. Itachi, recently admitted into the ANBU Captain role, was supposed to obtain information on Konoha's hidden secrets in order to build up information against the Elders and the Hokage..."

"But Itachi had other plans..." Sakura stated, and Sasuke looked from Mikoto to Sakura. "Growing up during the war, Itachi evolved into a bit of a pacifist... and knowing you were still so young, he didn't want you to be thrown into a world where a civil war was soon to erupt, no doubt."

"No... Itachi annihilated our entire clan… because he wanted to test his capabilities..." Sasuke shut his eyes, his fists harshly slamming down on the table as he began to understand what they were trying to tell him.

_Itachi is innocent, Sasuke-kun_

_How could they possibly try to tell him that? When they had both witnessed firsthand what Itachi had done... When Sakura herself had fought him off to defend and protect him and Mikoto...?_

"I know this is hard to understand Sasuke-kun... but Itachi did this to protect you..." Mikoto stated. "He struck a deal with Danzo. He would fulfill the annihilation of the clan, only if he were allowed to spare you, Sasuke-kun..." There were tears in Mikoto's eyes as she spoke. "Because he loved you more than anything in this world, Sasuke-kun..."

"But then I got in the way. I knew Mikoto was with child, and because of me I'm sure Itachi knew too... but he couldn't risk bringing another child to this world, when he could not guarantee their safety with Danzo still lurking in the background. Fortunately, I stalled him enough to not fulfill his plans, and he was glad I did so there afterwards, I'm sure, for Saki is still alive today. I threatened and black-mailed Danzo into not only keeping his end of the deal, but also in order to obtain immunity for Mikoto and her unborn child, knowing that Danzo was probably already making plans to dispose of them and probably blame it on Itachi." Sakura stated, spitting venom at the mention of Danzo's name and recalling all of her past interactions with him.

"If he really wanted to, Itachi could have killed the both of us Sasuke-kun... and I'm sure deep down inside you know it too..." Mikoto explained.

"No... how could he..."

"A world where he is detested and loathed by his own village Sasuke... he traded it all to assure himself that you would grow up in a village that loved you, with people who cared for you, so that you could one day grow up and achieve great things for the good of a nation that he loved, Sasuke-kun." Sakura stated, her hands balling into fists as her heart opened up a bit, thinking about Itachi. "I've known from the very beginning, which is why I told you to keep an open mind all those years ago. From the time I got to know him Sasuke, he was a great guy... He was misunderstood and often times didn't know how to express himself, but up until the day of the massacre, he protected me from the threats of your father, who had accused me of murdering Shisui..."

"And it had been him all along..." Sasuke acknowledged bitterly.

"...Sort of..."

Sasuke looked up in confusion at Sakura's interjection.

"Shisui... was also not in agreement with what the clan was doing... nor was he siding with the Elders, who under Danzo's rule, called for Konoha's eventual destruction as well... Which is why he counted on Itachi for the ultimate security of the village... He gave up his own life to allow Itachi to save the village from ruins... which he inadvertently entrusted you to do, Sasuke-kun." Sakura spoke. "In my timeline, a world where I did not rescue Mikoto and Saki, you went off to abandon the village shortly after the Chunin Exams, choosing to take Orochimaru as your sensei, where you proceeded to learn forbidden techniques in order to eventually take revenge upon Itachi... except you would eventually find out the truth and turn a blind eye on what Itachi had wanted, and you would have sought revenge on Konoha, eventually beginning another world war."

That's right, while Sakura had been stuck in her dimensional bubble, she had done enough research with her kekkai genkai to help, so she had also gotten to see the future that lay ahead in her own timeline. And, well, she was thankful that Tsunade sent her back when she did... She did not get to see much, just small glimpses of what would become, enough to paint a picture that Sasuke was a major piece in creating a whole new Shinobi War.

Sasuke had no words to speak, so Sakura decided to continue. "The reason that we are telling you this Sasuke, is to tell you that regardless of where Itachi is now, he is not your enemy..."

"He is not _our _enemy." Mikoto affirmed, giving Sakura a pointed look as if saying _"he had his reasons for trying to kill you Sakura, he always has reasons, so please don't hate him for it."_

And still, Sasuke was silent, not knowing exactly what to think.

There was a long silence before Mikoto spoke up once more. "...He came to see her, you know... Saki-chan... a few months after Sakura delivered her..."

"Oh?" Sakura questioned, not having been aware of this fact. Mikoto in turn gave a nod of confirmation.

"I remember it well; it had been Saki's third month. He seemed so nervous at first... holding her in his arms." Mikoto recalled. "But holding her in his arms... he was instantly smitten with her, you could tell, even if he didn't say it." Mikoto smiled. "He was proud... and I'm sure he would be proud now, Sasuke, seeing how well you've grown up. He had always said that he'd stand by you no matter what..."

And that had done it. He slipped.

And for one of the few times in his life, Sasuke allowed himself to cry.

Because for so long, he had looked at his brother as evil, despite the fact that, as Sakura and his mother had explained it, it had been all for Sasuke, in a twisted and complicated way. And there Mikoto, Sasuke, and Sakura sat, allowing Sasuke to cope with this. He had spent over ten years of his life resenting his older brother, when it was him he should have been thankful for. When it was him Sasuke owed everything to. And deep down inside, he was glad. Glad that Sakura and Mikoto interfered before his hate developed into an all-out mind-consuming obsession on revenge. So he sat there, perhaps for fifteen minutes, perhaps for an hour, simply crying, feeling like it was something that he definitely needed. And Sakura and Mikoto understood this –hell, Mikoto was crying alongside him, her hands gripping Sasuke's own for support, as they both recalled the fateful day when their family was torn apart by the cruelty of the world.

"Do you... believe us?" Sakura questioned hesitantly upon hearing Sasuke's crying settle, his breathing still ragged and tears still sliding down his cheeks, but Sasuke, overall, calm.

After a long pause, Sasuke looked at Sakura, tears still in his eyes, and nodded. "I do"

Seriously? It had been that easy? Sakura couldn't believe she was dreading this, if this is all that it took.

"You two have no reason to lie to me... I trust you guys more than anyone." Sasuke explained, and then looked at Sakura. "You cared enough to go back into the past to try and make my life more bearable... I appreciate that more than words alone could express, Sakura." Sakura's heart lightened at the words. "And I knew, deep down inside, that Itachi could never commit those crimes willingly..."

"Sasuke, I'm sure that right around now you might want to murder the Elders… trust me, I wish it nearly as much as you do," Sakura began, allowing herself a moment to drink some of the tea that had laid forgotten on the table up until now, "but please understand that there are other pressing matters to attend to before we even consider doing that."

"Such as?" Sasuke asked, wiping away his tears, and right around this time, Mikoto began listening intently too.

"First off, destroying Akatsuki. Protecting Naruto has always and will always be my number one priority until we see the end of it. Although Danzo is not an ally, we do have a common enemy with Akatsuki, and the advantage we have here is that Danzo is not aware of my circumstances of having been to the past. If we can focus our energy into the destruction of the Akatsuki and allow time to pass until we are ready for a confrontation with Danzo, then things will go a lot smoother for us. Whether he looks like it or not, Danzo is fairly strong and highly dangerous. He has under his control, one of Shisui's eyes, which serves as a very potent and dangerous weapon for him, after all."

"He took Shisui's eye?" Sasuke asked, angered.

"Hai." Sakura gave a curt nod. "Shisui's eyes were a bit of a prize, even among the Uchiha, to which I will not get into specifics about, but even here, we have an advantage that even he will not see coming."

"And what is that?" Mikoto asked, curious. Frankly, she had never gotten into conversation about Shisui, seeing him a rather irrelevant topic, what with everything else that was going on around them.

Sakura grinned. "Why, we have Shisui, of course."

* * *

"ACHOO!"

"Are you coming down with the flu, Shisui?"

Shisui looked up from his location in the kitchen to stare at the sole female friend he had, the only person he had been able to interact with in about ten years. "I hope not." He shivered.

"Here, let me check." Marika approached him, placing a gentle hand on his forehead. "You don't seem hot..."

"I'm sure it's nothing. Just feeling the chills a little... It's funny actually, because the only time I ever do is when it has something to do with Sakura... I tell you, you have one scary little sister." Shisui sighed, shaking his head.

Marika laughed. "You don't have to tell me twice Shisui. But hey, I'm hungry and I've got to get back on the road in a few hours, so either you hurry up and make lunch, or I leave you alone for another month." Marika grinned.

"Hai, Hai," He sighed, and when Marika turned around and began to walk away, he added a quick "demanding woman", to which he had Marika laughing at.

"I heard that."

"I don't know what you're talking about, _darling_."

At said comment, Marika was quick to blush and stammer away. "S-Shuddup!"

Because Marika couldn't have been any more innocent, even at age 24, and Shisui just found it so amusing and adorable, if he were being completely honest with himself.

And maybe, just maybe, it was because Marika undeniably had the biggest crush ever on the older male Uchiha, but of course, he was much too dense and stupid to even catch a hint of it, even if she was extremely obvious about it.

'_My life sucks,' _Marika thought with a defeated sigh, going back to the tatami mat and placing herself sprawled all over the table in misery. _'I can kind of understand how Sakura felt, crushing on Itachi. These men are, by all definitions of the word, dense.'_

But alas, she supposed it was her fault for liking a buffoon like him anyway.

* * *

"Shisui-kun… is alive?!" Mikoto didn't believe it. It seemed like just yesterday that she was crying in her kitchen, mourning the loss of one of her favorite nephews. Why hadn't Sakura told her before? Well, she supposed she could understand why, but she could hardly care at this point -_he was alive...!_

Sakura nodded. "Please refrain from telling anyone else, for the time being. But yes, with the help of his eyes, he put Itachi under a genjutsu that left Itachi thinking he had actually killed Shisui, in order for him to awaken the Magekyou. Then he took his only other good eye and left it to be watched over by Itachi and for him to do as he saw fit with it. Shortly afterwards he was going to kill himself, but I had other plans for him, so I intervened." Sakura explained.

"You truly have done wonders to the past Sakura." Mikoto said in delight, clapping her hands. "But where is he now?" Mikoto questioned.

"He is currently in a village located about a days time from here, travelling wise. I had Marika watch over him while I was... err, away, you could say." Sakura said.

"So... he has no Sharingan?" Sasuke questioned in disbelief.

Sakura shook his head. "No, but let me tell you, he'd sure give you a run for your money, that's for sure Sasuke-kun. You could probably learn a thing or two from him, given that he returns to the village and stuff." Sakura explained.

Sasuke's eyes twinkled in delight at that, and Sakura couldn't help but laugh. Hell, she was beginning to see Sasuke as a little brother, and she had to admit, it was almost adorable seeing his face not being so expressionless all the time.

"But, as I said, you are to tell no one of Shisui's existence. Not even Kakashi knows, which is rare, seeing as he's become our confidante, and-"

"Wait, Kakashi-sensei knew all this time too?"

Sakura sighed, realizing she had completely forgotten to tell Sasuke this.

"In the beginning we didn't really want to tell him… but we realized if we wanted you all to survive we needed to make a close-knit connection of people in which we could trust… Kakashi-sensei seemed like our number one choice. I knew he was a trustworthy man in the future, and although lazy, under pressure he can definitely deliver. Plus, he has enough contacts to give us a heads up if we ever seemed to be in danger of anything." Sakura explained.

"Not to mention, he would become your senseis', so it was best he knew of our situations long before." Mikoto added, and Sakura agreed with a quick nod.

"Who else knows?" Sasuke asked.

"Aside from my family, Kakashi, and Tsunade-sama, and Shisui of course, nobody."

"And Naruto?" Mikoto was more along the lines asking whether he should be told, and Sakura contemplated this.

"He has a big mouth." Sakura commented, and as a response Sasuke scoffed, as if saying that was an understatement. "But, I know I can trust Naruto with pretty much anything…" she sighed. "Plus, I guess it doesn't help when he's already eavesdropping on our conversation, so it's not like I can_ not _tell him."

"I suppose that's true." Sasuke smirked.

"Oh come on, seriously? Was I that obvious?"

"There's no way you'd leave the three of us alone to discuss some super secret information, especially after Saki-chan mentioned wedding arrangements." Mikoto giggled light-heartedly, watching as Sakura shook her head in dismay. Because, knowing Naruto, it was super obvious that he'd make a clone instantly and scurry away before Saki noticed, just for the sake of hearing the juicy gossip between Mikoto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

"It only took about thirty seconds to realize you were here, dobe." Sasuke shrugged, although a smirk was intact. Frankly, he trusted Naruto more than he would ever admit to, and there wasn't anything that Sasuke hadn't eventually shared with the dobe, due to his constant pressuring, so he figured, regardless of whatever it was that Sakura and Mikoto had to share with him now, it wasn't anything that he wouldn't tell Naruto within the next few days anyway. And, well, let's just say Naruto could be so obnoxious, to the point where Sasuke was willing to share just about anything in order to have him shut up and leave him alone.

"But you know," Naruto began, walking inside of the living room and sitting cross-legged across from Mikoto, "Now that you mention it, I do remember a Sakura-oneechan from the past too."

"Well of course you do." Sakura confirmed. "I couldn't simply just _go to the past, _and _not _meet my favorite knuckle-headed, future Hokage. You were so cute back then Naruto! With your cute little whiskers and your goofy little grin..." Sakura laughed as Naruto blushed slightly, if not for the embarrassing things Sakura was saying about him, then because, he noted, Sakura had gone out of her way to meet him because she loved and cared for him, and these thoughts were enough to send fuzzy feelings to the pit of his stomach.

"Enough about Naruto." Sasuke tried his best not to roll his eyes, because deep down inside he knew that Naruto absolutely loved it when Sakura complimented him (because frankly, it didn't happen that often), "When are you going to go speak to Shisui?"

Taking her attention off of Naruto, her gleeful smile turned back into a serious one. "Probably as soon as Marika-neechan comes back. I've been having her visit him on a monthly basis to make sure he's okay while I've been away, which is probably where she's at now. I'd like to have a conversation with my clan as well, if at all possible… get a better feel of what has changed." Sakura explained. Despite her having time to see all the changes, it was one thing watching them, and another thing all together actually experiencing it firsthand. Not to mention that she couldn't ever be at more than one place at a given time, so some events over-lapped, some of which could have been crucial or important.

"Should you be accompanied?" Sasuke asked, and Sakura clearly took the hint that he so desperately wanted to meet his elder cousin.

In response, Sakura laughed. "We'll see Sasuke-kun."

"If you don't take him with you neither you nor I will ever hear the end of it Sakura." Mikoto laughed.

"Is this cousin of yours strong Sasuke-teme?" Naruto asked curiously.

Sasuke gave a curt nod. "He was up to par with Itachi, easily."

Naruto's eyes twinkled in delight, but before he could even speak up, Sakura interjected. "No Naruto, I will not take you with me and no, you cannot ask him to fight you." She sighed in disbelief. It was amazing how much he didn't change at all –then again, a Naruto that wasn't Naruto-like at all would simply not be home.

"But whyyyyyy" he complained childishly.

"I know for a fact Tsunade isn't letting you step out of Konoha without a formal team." Sakura shook her head. "Just because I've been away on a mission doesn't mean I'll forget that much, Naruto no Baka." Sakura stood up and stretched, smacking Naruto as she walked away. "Now, if you will excuse me, I'd like to go to my room and lie down for a bit. It's been a long day."

"But It's barely noon Sakura-chan!" she could hear Naruto complaining as she walked off, but she didn't care. Telling Sasuke the truth had been taking such a toll on her, and now that it was out in the open, she could finally rest at ease.

For now, she had to figure out what her next steps of action would be, and what exactly she was supposed to do about Itachi.

Just the thought of his name was enough to have her heart clench once more, recalling the events of the Uchiha Massacre. She couldn't recall how her supposed murder went down, having not actually been there, but she knew, having seen the supposed sight of her death, that he had definitely used the Amaterasu on her… well, it had been either him or Tobi, but regardless, he had charged at her with the intent to kill, so he was as much to blame as Tobi. And it wasn't like she could ask Kikyou -she hadn't heard a word from her since she had taken control of Sakura's body. Matsuro had explained to her that Kikyou was resting, having used too much of her strength, and that it would be a while before she recuperated, but Sakura knew nothing more, not that she needed to. Kikyou had taken the Amaterasu for her -she had saved her life from either Itachi or Tobi, and this she could never thank her enough for.

And Tobi was another topic in itself. Who was he? Yes, he was an Uchiha, but who? Who did Itachi respect and fear enough? Sakura could think of no one, and it scared her to think what he was capable of if Itachi, one of the top members in the Akatsuki, feared him. And what were Tobi's true motives and intentions? Why help Itachi annihilate the clan, and why even take enough interest in her to try and kill her? It couldn't be that Itachi had asked him to do it, could it?

They needed information on this Tobi character, but she feared even Jiraiya wouldn't be able to safely acquire any.

With a long, exasperated sigh, Sakura shut her eyes and smothered her head with a pillow. It was her first day back, and as alleviating as it was, telling Sasuke about the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre had only been Step 1 out of a series of steps, and she had no idea what to do anymore.

'_I definitely need to visit Shisui... He'll have better insight on what to do from here on out. So will my clan.' _Sakura thought to herself with a nod. She had to rely on her instincts, and of course the advice from people such as Kakashi, Tsunade, and Jiraiya... She was sure, only with their help and guidance, could they see to the destruction of Akatsuki.

And with that thought in mind, she decided that she should focus on other things, perhaps something a little more along the lines of catching up with friends and family.

**End of Chapter 2**

**Do you guys sense a little Marika x Shisui? Why yes, yes you do :3 I don't know why but I have completely fallen in love with the idea of Marika and Shisui getting together x) EVERYONE IS ALLOWED A CHANCE AT LOVE, EVEN IF ITS AN OC AND A SHOULD BE DECEASED CHARACTER ALRIGHT?! What do you guys think about it though? :s is it too much?**

**Also, I know it seems like I'm kind of doing a little NaruxSaku or SasuxSaku, but I want to paint the image that since Sasuke and Sakura practically grew up together, and Sasuke actually having what was a bit of a make-shift family, he would not grow up as emotionless and detached, and finding out Sakura pretty much saved his life, he'll feel like he has to protect her so they grow kind of a protective younger brother perspective of things. And… well, Saki just wants Sakura in the family as an older sister ^.^ Cuz Sakura is bad-ass and cool and all that good shtuff. Also, even though I don't care for the pairing, Naruto DOES have feelings for Sakura in the anime, which I am trying to incorporate slightly just to make things slightly more realistic, but not to worry, it won't really be a big (or even minor, for that matter) focus at all.**

**Basically a slow-ish chapter, Sakura kind of easing in to the whole 'I've been gone for four whole months but I actually haven't lived this life' role. Trust me, the next 2 chapters will be a lot more exciting and will start getting down to the core of the plot!**

**Also on another note, I uploaded a two-shot a while ago, if you haven't already you should check it out ^.^ Next stories i'll be working on are hopefully _New Sakura_, _Somewhere We Belong_, _The Penis Game_ (the 2nd and last chapter to the 2 shot), as well as more revisions for _Sakura's New Past._**

**Check my profile for updates as well!**

**Questions? Comments? Concerns? Critiques? I'm all ears!**

**Any and all feedback is much appreciated!**

**-MarzSpy**


	3. Captured (Again)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form.**

**Chapter 3: Captured (...Again)**

* * *

"_Nice to see you again, Sakura."_

"_Likewise, Shisui." Sakura gave a curt nod as Shisui side-stepped, allowing Sakura to enter his small home._

"_I've been hearing news about a terrible Massacre in Konoha... I don't suppose Itachi had something to do with it?" Shisui began as they approached the living room and sat down, his question obviously not mean to actually be answered. Because both of them clearly knew it had everything to do with Itachi._

_With a sigh, Sakura slumped herself down, accepting the cup of tea that was already laid out for her. "It's been a full week and everything's still in complete chaos. Sasuke and Mikoto are doing well, though. At least you can commend me for that." Sakura stated sarcastically, and Shisui could visibly see how much of a strain the entire ordeal had taken on Sakura since the last time he had seen her._

"_I'm sure having Mikoto will help alleviate some of what Sasuke must be feeling. It was a wise move trying to save her, Sakura." Shisui gave her a curt nod, a sign of acknowledgement as he tried his best to ease Sakura's worry stress._

"_It had been easier said than done, let me tell you." Sakura sighed. _

_"Oh I can see that Sakura. You're thirteen, why do you have wrinkles already?" he tried to joke, pleased when Sakura sent him a glare, anything to get her mind off of things momentarily._

_"You know what, I'm sorry I'm trying to pick up the pieces your clan left behind."_

_"Hai, Hai, I know Sakura." Shisui gave her a small, genuine smile. "What you are doing for us, we are very grateful for. I'm sure I wouldn't have seen anyone step up after the massacre to take care of Sasuke in your timeline." Although he tried to soften his statement with his smile, Sakura could see how serious he was, just adding to how much Shisui appreciated everything Sakura was doing for them._

_"And speaking about the massacre..." Sakura suddenly spoke up, trying not to dwell on his kindness, for she was a busy girl with things to do, "there is something I have been itching to ask you about. It's been on my mind ever since the massacre and I can't let it go, no matter how much I try. I'm hoping you can shine some light on the ordeal."_

"_Oh?" Shisui said, intrigued, as he took a sip of his tea. "I'll try my best to answer, but the massacre had primarily been Itachi's planning, not mine. It wasn't like I'd be there to supervise or see to it that plans go smoothly, after all." He responded, implying that he would have been dead, so why the hell would he have cared how Itachi planned on going about with the massacre, so long as he actually did it._

"_Well... did he ever mention... the aid of another Uchiha for the annihilation of the clan, by any chance?"_

"_Another Uchiha?" Shisui questioned in befuddlement as he raised a delicate eyebrow, now even more intrigued than before._

_Sakura nodded in confirmation. "You see, when fighting Itachi, a masked man appeared... He activated the Amaterasu using the one hole in his mask. He had great fighting capabilities as well, enough so that, even with my Flower Eye, I could not keep up with him or even land a single blow on him, for that matter. He was certainly stronger than any shinobi I have seen in a really long time... I fear even Itachi in the present wouldn't be any match for him. Hell, Itachi seemed scared of him, if I think back to our fight." Sakura explained._

"_And you're sure it was his? The Amaterasu, that is?" Shisui questioned, more so intrigued about the Mangekyou Sharingan that this supposed Uchiha had, rather than his fighting capabilities._

"_I'm positive. I saw his Sharingan eye right before he nearly set me on fire." Sakura affirmed._

_For a long time, Shisui did not speak. "Despite our clan being thirsty for power," he began, "we frowned upon actually obtaining the Mangekyou because of its side-effects and because of the actual act of committing a crime. This is why Itachi kept it a secret that he obtained his eyes, even from his father, because despite how proud Fugaku would have been, the cons definitely outweigh the pros." Shisui paused, allowing himself time to sigh for a long time before he continued. "On top of that, there wasn't anyone other than Itachi and myself that showed great enough promise to pull of exceptionally high skill like that which you mention... I don't think I've ever seen Itachi fearful of any clansmen of ours, let alone an opponent. Frankly, if this was an actual Uchiha you encountered, he was definitely not part of the clan before the massacre, is my assumption."_

_Sakura was left deep in thought. An Uchiha not already with the clan...? "Did you guys have any kinsmen go rogue? Enough for him to be perhaps around twenty, at most?" Although she could not get a look at the face to determine an accurate age, based on the slim figure on the shinobi, she could tell that he had yet to develop a muscular physique, meaning he was exceptionally young, perhaps no older than the Kakashi of that timeline._

_Shisui shook his head. "Not that I know of, but I couldn't give you an accurate statistic even if I wanted to... I never paid too much attention to that sort of stuff anyway." Shisui responded._

"_Well, thanks anyway... whoever he is, he is definitely a threat to our plans..." Sakura couldn't help but bite her thumb as she analyzed the situation, a trait of Tsunade's that had rubbed off on her over the years._

"_How so?" Shisui questioned._

"_Well... I could be wrong, although I highly doubt that is the case, I think he is a masked man affiliated with Akatsuki years from now..."_

_Shisui's eyes widened and then suddenly narrowed. "And you're sure he's an Uchiha?" he questioned once again._

"_I am nearly positive." Sakura confirmed. He even had tufts of black hair, and even though that was hardly anything to base her hypothesis on, she knew that most Uchihas' were never dumb enough to go and get themselves killed, and have their eyes stolen from them on top of that. So the probability that this masked stranger, this _Tobi _that she thought him to be, had stumbled upon a rare find of eyes with the Mangekyou already established within them was highly improbable. "Why, what are you thinking?" she questioned._

"_No, nothing for now... it just seems... strange, is all... But never mind that! Aren't you going to check how my eyes are doing?"_

"_Hai..." Sakura nodded, as her and Shisui stood and walked towards the only bedroom in the house. Shisui lay down flat, while Sakura sat down alongside him, her hands hovering over his closed eye lids. "I hope this isn't too sudden, but this is probably the last time you'll see me in a while." She spoke as she pushed chakra into his retinas._

"_It's fine; you warned me this would happen." He hummed out, quietly almost._

_Silence._

"_I'll see if I can have somebody come in my stead once a month for these sessions." Sakura offered._

"_I'd rather not risk people discovering of my existence, it is fine. I'm sure your handiwork on my eye is just fine." He rejected._

"_It'll be a long time..." Sakura pressed._

"_And I shall wait patiently, Sakura." He rejected once more, and with a sigh, Sakura decided to give up. Although she hadn't known Shisui for very long, she had learned he was a stubborn boy, and she found it best to deal with him by not dealing with him at all. She'd find somebody, hopefully, and send him or her off to make sure Shisui's eye was doing just fine, with or without Shisui's consent, she decided._

* * *

"What's next on the agenda?"

"Still searching for replacements for Hidan and Kakuzu. Kisame and Itachi are currently heading back from Cloud and Orochimaru and Tobi are off to claim the bounty on that Kiri-nin."

"And Sasori and Deidara?"

"They've just returned and are awaiting your instructions."

"Good. I sense a wind of change. Be ready Konan."

"Hai, Pein-sama." Konan walked out of the dark room, her piercing blue eyes penetrating the empty darkness. And it was true, she could feel the winds of change too...

* * *

It was late at night, Sakura having just returned from a casual, relaxed dinner with her friends (Naruto and Sasuke had effortlessly organized a Welcome Back party to commemorate Sakura's return to Konoha, in which all of the original Rookie 9 had attended, along with Team Gai, her Haruno family members, and their old senseis).

She had barely gotten to rest but five or so minutes, and Sakura found her door being knocked on before she could even allow herself to relax. "Hai?"

Slowly, in walked Saki. "Okaa-san told me to alert you that Marika has finally arrived. She's sent word of your arrival and asked that she meet you at Hiroto-sensei's house."

With a nod, Sakura got up and stretched. "Arigatou Saki-chan. Tell Mikoto I am grateful." Sakura began walking towards the door, ruffling Saki's hair as she walked past her.

With a grin, Saki ran, easily caught up to Sakura, and then walked alongside her down the hall. "Are you leaving again, Sakura-neesama?"

"Only for a little while this time, I promise." Sakura looked down at Saki with a smile.

She pouted in response. "When will we get to train together again? I swear I'm so close to mastering my chakra control! And then you can teach me how to smash boulders too!" she proclaimed.

Sakura laughed a hearty laugh. "Wouldn't it be cool if you developed your own technique though?" Sakura stated.

"What do you mean?" she pondered this.

"Well, everyone from Team 7 has their special, signature move or technique. For Sasuke-kun, it's his hundreds of different fire and electric type jutsus, as well as his infamous Raikiri. For Naruto, it's his thousands of Shadow Clones and his rasengan of course, and for me, it's my innate healing abilities and my inhuman strength, obviously." Sakura explained with a wink.

Saki put a finger to her mouth as she thought. "You're absolutely right Sakura-neesama! When you come back, I'll have a super cool technique especially for me made up! You'll see it'll be the best, I promise."

"Alright, I'll hold you to your word. If you see Sasuke-kun please tell him to be ready to leave tomorrow morning, and to ask Tsunade-sama for time off if he needs to."

"Hai! I'll go find Sasuke-niisan right away!" And she was off like a lightning bolt, just as Sakura was getting ready to leave the house. Sakura could swear she never had even half of the energy that Saki had –it was truly amazing, she didn't really know where Saki got it from, but she sure felt like she would be a pain to deal with for Hiroto.

* * *

"Sakura-chan!" Marika and Himawari had both quite literally tackled Sakura to the ground, nearly as soon as Sakura had entered the compound.

"We've missed you so much!" Himawari cried anime tears.

"I've been so lonely in the house without you!" Marika did the same.

"Stop being so melodramatic." Hiroto rolled his eyes, standing before Sakura as he shook his head in disapproval. At this statement, Marika and Himawari, with a defeated sigh, got off of Sakura and allowed her to stand. "I swear they always get so childish when you go away on missions."

"I resent that."

"As do I."

One by one, Himawari and Marika both passed by Hiroto, both of them smacking his arm rather harshly. "Maybe if you were a little more welcoming to our guests, Marika would come by more often." Himawari scoffed.

"Yeah, maybe I would." Marika agreed.

It was Hiroto's turn to scoff. "You're hardly a guest. More of a pest I can't get rid of."

At the mention, Sakura laughed, and before Marika could even try to decapitate him, Sakura tried to defuse the situation. "Alright, come on guys, as much as I'd love to come here to hang out, I've got some catching up to do and I don't have nearly enough time as I'd like to do it."

"Hai." Marika and Himawari grumbled in displeasure, meanwhile Hiroto just sighed and gave her a small smile.

"Right this way, Sakura-hime." He teased lightly, showing Sakura the way to their living room. "Daichi and Sayuri are already waiting inside."

Sakura gave a curt not in acknowledgement, following Hiroto to a shoji door which he slid open. The living room was rather spacious, and at the other end, there was yet another shoji door already opened, revealing a peaceful and serene view of a small pond and the beautiful lush green forest behind it. Daichi and Sayuri were lounging around in the outside, their feet dipping off the porch. Upon hearing the shoji door slide open, they both turned around and watched as Sakura walked before them.

Courteously, they both stood up and gave a small bow. "Sakura-sama, it is a pleasure to see you once more." Daichi stated.

"Likewise." Sakura nodded, a little embarrassed at being treated so much like… _royalty… _But it was to be expected, in all honesty. Sakura _was _royalty. She was their heir. And now that she was back, no longer in a thirteen year old body, she emitted the confidence of a full-fledged adult, with the knowledge of the past, present, and future all hanging on her shoulders. Accordingly, they all settled for a place around the table, as they expectantly looked at Sakura to begin saying whatever it was that she needed to say.

"Let me start off by saying it's been so long since I've seen you all." Sakura looked around, not used to seeing all of her family members so grown up. "For all of you its been four months without me... for me, it's been years." She sighed. "That being said, it's nice to be back." Sakura began, "And even though I was able to partially watch everything as it happened, I've realized I have missed a lot... Which is why I've called everyone here, to get a better feel of what is going on in Konoha's politics today." Sakura stated.

Hiroto nodded understandingly, as he began speaking. "Tsunade-sama appointed Marika as an ambassador to the Daimyo, whereas Himawari here has just recently gotten assigned to her first ANBU team."

"I have been training under Ibiki to eventually become head of the torture department." Sayuri said with a bow.

Alongside her, Daichi let a small shiver run down his spine, because he just knew that somehow this meant her trying out techniques on him, and he wasn't sure if he could exactly handle that. "I am practicing under Nara Shikamaru's guidance for Tsunade's tactical analysis division."

"That's new." Sakura commented.

"Hai." Marika confirmed. "It's currently lacking many members, only having Shikamaru, Daichi, and Shino, and although Jiraiya is not explicitly in it, he works with them often enough."

"Meanwhile, as you already know, I have taken up the task of leading Saki's squad." Hiroto gave a curt nod. "After much deliberation, Tsunade-sama, Mikoto, Kakashi and I believed it to be the best course of action, seeing as Kakashi would be needed out in the field once you returned."

Sakura nodded, understanding their thought process. "And who is helping Saki with her Mangekyou?" she asked.

"Sasuke is helping hone her Sharingan, but Kakashi has slowly began teaching her the basics every now and then... it kinda just depends on whether or not Saki can corner Kakashi and pressure him into doing it." Hiroto scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"As is typical to get Kakashi to do anything." Sakura rolled her eyes, thinking about her lazy sensei, but moved on. "How have Akatsuki been?" Sakura moved on to a more serious topic.

"...They've been, a little more than unsettling." Hiroto was truthful, after a long pause in which they thought about Akatsuki. "Just the other month there were sightings of Akatsuki around the borders of the Fire Country." Hiroto began.

"It had been a mess trying to settle the Daimyo's uneasiness." Marika rolled her eyes. "Thankfully, he felt a little more at ease with a Haruno by his side. Apparently we're a bit of a rare find, who would have known." Marika said sarcastically, rolling her eyes slightly. Just because she was a Haruno didn't assure his safety any more than having another equally-skilled ninja by his side. Truthfully speaking, Kakashi could probably defeat her with only slight difficulty if he were really trying.

"I've heard from Tsunade that Jiraiya's contacts say they're closing in on the eight-tails, the team of Sasori and Deidara being seen there several times, but I think it'll be a while till that happens." Hiroto began.

"From what Ibiki has informed me, the eight-tails seems to be really strong, having full control of his demon." Sayuri added on with a nod of agreement. "It seems that, for now, the likelihood of him being caught is small."

"It's a front." Daichi said with boredom, staring outside at a wandering butterfly, and all eyes turned to him as he spoke.

"Oh?" Sakura questioned, raising a delicate eyebrow for emphasis.

"The eight tails has serious offensive and defensive stats, nearly up to par, if not greater, with that of Naruto's nine-tails, due to their combined techniques and complete synchronization of moves and attacks." Daichi began. "They would need a team that can not only isolate him and catch him off guard, but withstand incredible force and also deliver it in quick succession in order to subdue it. From the statistics and information I've gathered with the joint help of Jiraiya and Shikamaru, the team consisting of Kisame and Itachi would seem ideal because of their strong offensive output, but neither Kisame nor Itachi have nearly enough stamina to be able to hold through long enough to drain his strength." Daichi sighed. "On top of that, there is the team of Sasori and Deidara, who are very versatile, but the demon's regenerative and defense capabilities leave both Sasori's poison and Deidara's explosions at a great, crippling disadvantage, even if their teamwork is rather remarkable." Daichi explained analytically, as if this had been something he had given much thought to before. "And then there is the team of Orochimaru and Tobi, and although not much information is gathered on Tobi, Orochimaru's great summons would be the best opponent for immobilizing the beast, while Tobi's exceedingly high speeds cripple the Jinchuuriki, although this team is at best, average or adept at trying to capture the beast. But who really knows how well Orochimaru's snake summons would fair against it. I reckon it would still be a crippling loss, regardless of his great skill."

"So what do you suppose their real target is?" Sakura questioned.

"Well, after having given it much thought," Daichi began, "The only real gains they have from hanging around there is either obtaining information on the Hachibi, their kage, or as a diversion tactic." He stated. "And the only other Jinchuuriki's that have avoided capture thus far are the one-tail, the six-tails, and the nine-tails. Naruto is under high surveillance here, and having such skilled shinobi like Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, etc. etc., Naruto included, makes it a little difficult for them to capture him. The six-tails, having such high-mobility and never staying in one place for too long, can easily evade them for a long period of time, not to mention that Kirigakure has taken extensive efforts to try and keep him safe. If he is ever found, regardless of their contacts, he'll be found first and foremost by Kiri-nin, not Akatsuki. And were that to be the case, he'd be taken back to the village, where he'll be a hell of a lot safer, enough for it to be too difficult to extract him. Over the past few months, he has traveled to over four different nations, as Jiraiya's contacts informed us, so the likelihood of him running into Akatsuki is rather low... Plus, he is extremely skilled and capable of evading capture with his quick thinking and easy escapes."

Although he didn't state it, it was evident at what he was getting at.

_They were targeting Gaara next._

But of course, because Suna had fallen behind over the years and have recently been struggling to maintain their strength as one of the Great Shinobi Nations. In addition, Gaara was grounded to the village and had a duty to protect it as its kage, and not to mention the location made it ideal to attack without being seen, with plenty of places to hide, no thanks to the damned sand everywhere.

"Have you informed Tsunade of this?" Sakura questioned, her eyebrows scrunching up as she began heavily thinking.

"We have. Unfortunately, because our relations with Suna are not very sound, we really have no way of helping Suna or aiding them in case an attack draws near, which is likely, seeing as their shinobi are average at best, with the exception of the Kazekage himself, and their medical field truly a sham compared to ours." Daichi explained with a sigh. "But, she did say she was making successful attempts at contacting their Kazekage, Gaara no Subaku, over the past few months, since you left for your mission, actually." Daichi explained.

Marika nodded at this. "Tsunade was talking about sending me over there as an ambassador, but due to the high-demand of which the Daimyo calls for me, she has been thinking about sending either Shikamaru, or Naruto, of course supervised by either you or Sasuke, or both, once you came back from your mission."

"That probably wouldn't be such a bad idea." Sakura acknowledged. Even though the battle at Konoha involving the attack of Shukaku during the Chunin exams never officially happened, and hence forth, Naruto was never able to form a bond with Gaara, it was never hard for Naruto to make a new friend, especially not a fellow Jinchuuriki. "I will speak to Tsunade regarding this matter when I get back in a few days, then. I have a contact I'd like to visit."

"Umm... in regards to travelling, Sakura-chan..." Himawari spoke up suddenly, allowing eyes to fall on her, "you won't be travelling alone, will you?" All eyes turned to Sakura, awaiting her response.

"Well, I was planning to travel with Sasuke-kun, why?" Sakura asked curiously.

There was a hesitant, pregnant pause in the air. "Orochimaru hasn't ceased searching for the heir since you came back to this timeline, Sakura-hime." Hiroto explained. "We are fearful that he knows it is you, and we know that he has spies everywhere... We haven't taken any risks ever since the Chunin exams..."

Sakura's eyes scrunched up, quickly being troubled by this news, her eyes briefly darkening at the mention of the Chunin Exams. The last time she had faced up against Orochimaru, she had barely even avoided capture –and that was with the help of two S-Class missing nins, on top of the help of a Sun God (_thank you Taiyou-sama, _Sakura quickly thought), and Marika.

**(A/N: The whole Chunin Exam thing will be explained in 3 chapters, don't worry too much about it now)**

"We're just worried about losing you so quickly after having gotten you back." Himawari expressed her concern.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine guys." Sakura shook her head in denial. "If Orochimaru is still with Akatsuki, he'll be taking orders from their leader, Pein, so there is no way that he'll disobey orders and go out of his way to come after me. Not to mention, as Daichi stated, they have recently been spotted around Kumo, so I should have no problem where I'm headed." Sakura explained.

"Alright, but please be careful. I don't want to have to go kill someone because you can't keep yourself out of trouble, Sakura-hime." Hiroto teased.

Sakura rolled her eyes playfully, grinning. "Hai, Hai, anyway, I suppose you've all had a long day, so we'll end it here for now. I probably won't see you guys for another few days, so I bid you all a goodbye until next time."

Slowly, each of them said their goodbyes and began going to their individual homes, Marika accompanying Sakura back to where she was taking residence in the Haruno Clan main household. "I don't suppose you've just returned from seeing Shisui, have you?" Sakura questioned, hanging by the front porch of the main household.

"Ironically enough, I have." Marika laughed. Before Sakura could ask her question, Marika added "he's doing good… His eyes have been superb since you've left, and he even suspected you'd be back soon." She quirked a smile.

"He always has been very intuitive." Sakura sighed. "He'd probably be great in that tactical division team Tsunade-sama's created." Sakura stated.

"Are you thinking about bringing him back to Konoha?" Marika mentally flinched at her own statement, noticing the fact that she had sounded a little too... _happy _at the thought.

"I've been thinking he should... There's no real threat anymore... Danzo, for now, is appeased, there's no growing threat of Shisui being eliminated, and it seems about time that our forces unite, no?" Sakura sighed.

"Well, I'm sure whatever you two decide will be for the best. Send Shisui my regards, Sakura-chan." Marika gave Sakura a quick, deep hug, and began walking off, planning on heading to her apartment.

"You literally _just _came from seeing him." Sakura stated, a raised eyebrow delicately framing her features.

"It never hurts to be cordial!" Marika shouted, not turning around, mainly because she was a little too worried that Sakura would spot the blush on her face.

With a sigh, Sakura rolled her eyes at Marika's antics and entered the house, finding all the lights off but one. She identified it as Sasuke's room, and gave a quick knock. After hearing a curt "Hn", she allowed herself to enter.

"Sakura" he greeted upon spotting her figure.

"You sure you wish to come with me tomorrow?" Sakura asked him.

He gave a nod. "It's been eleven years since I've seen my cousin. It'll be nice for him to see a familiar face." Sasuke guaranteed himself.

"He asks about you a lot, you know." Sakura approached Sasuke, sitting on the corner of Sasuke's bed. "Nearly every time Marika would visit him, he'd ask about how your skills were progressing and whether or not you'd mastered the Sharingan yet." She explained.

"He'd always treated me as a little brother." Sasuke gave a small smile. "He was always envious of Itachi for having been blessed with a younger brother."

"It shows that he cares." Sakura gave him a small smile. "Anyway, don't stay up too late Sasuke-kun." Sakura began to stand up, stretching.

"Goodnight Sakura."

"Night Sasuke-kun."

Sakura exited his room fairly quickly, not missing the fact that her conscious was soothed, seeing everything in relative calm since she came back. Entering her room, she changed into night clothes fairly quickly, and got clothes ready for the upcoming day.

Allowing herself to flop onto her bed, Sakura was quick to fall asleep, for once feeling at ease. She had her friends, she had her family...

_She had Sasuke-kun and Mikoto and Saki-chan safe..._

For once, things were... good...

And with that thought in mind, Sakura allowed herself to succumb to her much needed sleep.

* * *

"We'll be approaching the village in about two or so miles." Sakura alerted Sasuke, who simply nodded at her as they began to decrease their speed drastically, settling for a slow walk. "In order to not alert the locals, it's best we come in rather casually and blend in. We wouldn't want to bring unwanted attention here anyway."

"Hn" Sasuke agreed, completely understanding the precautions that Sakura was taking.

Walking for about twenty more minutes, they could finally see the small village just over the distance, a quaint little town with not much to particularly see –hell, it didn't even seem like there were any hotels there. But this was probably for the better, he decided, because hotels meant shinobi, and obviously, Shisui could not afford to be discovered. It was just close enough to the village to have him conveniently on the way from most of any mission, but far enough so that any wandering Konoha nin would have to purposely go out of their way to find him. Or any nin, for that matter.

Ten minutes later, they found themselves in the village, walking through the quiet and lonely streets, and it was just then that Sasuke's heart began to beat just a little harder and faster than before. _'Shisui...' _Sasuke had to try his best to not smile, in fear that Sakura would never let him live it down. But still, he could not deny the overwhelming joy he felt at the thought of everything that had occurred within the past twenty four hours.

Not only did Sakura return from her mission (which Sasuke would be lying about if he didn't admit that it had felt like forever), but along with her, came the knowledge of Itachi's ultimate innocence, as well as the survival of a cousin he had long since thought dead. Things were, he decided with a positive attitude, looking up for once in his life. And now all they had to do, as Sakura had stated, was disband Akatsuki and get their eventual revenge on the elders, particularly Danzo, although he could even look past said revenge if he could just have his family reunited once more.

"This is it Sasuke-kun." Sakura snapped him out of his thoughts as they rounded a corner. They approached the home, if not just a little slowly. Sakura fished around the potted plant for the key, and upon finding it, quickly unlocked the door, as they both hurriedly made their entrance into the small but comfortable cabin.

"Shisui! I'm back!" She shouted none too gently, waiting for a response.

She heard some noise from the other side of the house, as a figure began to appear from the hallway. "I just _knew _I had a right to be paranoid yesterday. I swear, you send me such unwelcoming vibes Sa-" Shisui froze instantly, finally appearing in the hallway and taking notice of the second figure alongside Sakura. "S-Sasuke…" he blinked. It took him a while to register, but the similarities were uncanny. Truth be told, he looked scarily like Itachi, but this was definitely Sasuke, down to his eccentric hair style and pointed, refined, sharp looks.

"Shisui." Sasuke greeted with a curt nod, although on the inside uncomfortably uneasy as he examined his cousin. Despite the fact that he was the same age as the old bag Hiroto, it seemed like he had hardly aged since he had been supposedly killed, perhaps do to the fact that he mostly spent his time indoors and had lived a life of relative leisure, ease and relaxation since Sakura had brought him here about eleven to twelve years in the past. He wasn't quite sure how to approach his cousin, whether or not he should openly show affection and give him a blatant, deep hug (as part of him kind of wanted to do), or remain respectful and give the man some space.

But apparently, he didn't really have to decide that on his own, for in the blink of an eye (He hadn't been known as Shisui of the Body Flicker Technique for nothing, he supposed), Shisui was on him with a deep embrace, although he hid his tears rather well. "It's been too long." It was but a whisper, but in his voice Sasuke could tell just how lonely Shisui had been for the past decade. Of course, how would he not be, with only Marika to keep him company one day out of every month?

Sakura interjected quickly, "I knew you'd appreciate seeing him, after all these years." The sight of the two of them was definitely heart-warming, Sakura decided, noticing how she hadn't seen Sasuke so at peace in such a very long time.

They broke apart finally, as Shisui gazed at Sakura. "I'm so glad I decided to trust you years ago, Sakura. None of this would have ever been possible, if not for you."

Sakura could only smile humbly at the gratitude that Shisui was showing her, not knowing what else she could say. "I'm just glad I was persuasive enough to have you give me a chance." And without even giving her much time to register, Shisui was suddenly on her with an embrace, trying his best to show his gratitude for everything she had done for not just him, but for his family too. Now they only needed Itachi, but were it that simple, they probably wouldn't be here right now.

"Alright, enough of the mushy stuff for now. What brings you two here?" And so he began to walk towards the living room, where they would always have their conversations and meetings. He had long since gotten four cushions for his table, instead of two, Marika stating that the state in which his house was in was depressing to her, and that he needed to redecorate if she planned on coming here every month. And although he didn't know what exactly led him to comply to her needs, he supposed he could take advantage of one of those extra cushions now.

"Just wanted to first off let you know that I'm back." Sakura laughed, "But it seemed your intuition figured it out on its own." Sakura stated, amused. "But I'd also like to catch you up on things, just for the sake of being up to date."

"Hai." Shisui confirmed. "Imagine my surprise," Shisui began, "When seven years ago, I heard that Orochimaru had successfully managed to kill the Third Hokage… That must have been the first time I decided that perhaps you weren't lying about your time-travel mumbo jumbo." Shisui stated with a defeated sigh. "Although, by the looks of it, you've managed to change even the way _that _played out."

"Speaking of which, I'm not entirely sure how I managed to do that, being completely honest." Sakura shrugged. "But I suppose that is a topic for another day." Sakura brushed his comment aside. "Things have yet to be sorted out with Suna, so as for what happened that day and there afterwards, I have not the slightest clue."

Shisui nodded. "So what are your plans, now that you are back?" he questioned.

"That's one of the things I wanted to speak to you about," Sakura sighed. "Well, clearly, I have already spoken to Sasuke about the Uchiha Massacre." At said statement, Sasuke gave a quick nod in affirmation. "But now the main things that we must focus on are fortifying our bonds with Suna, protecting the remaining Jinchuuriki, and of course, defeating Akatsuki. As Daichi has stated, he has strong suspicions that they are targeting Gaara no Subaku next, which leaves us with very limited time to act before it's too late." Sakura began. It'll be extremely difficult to fortify bonds, esepecially if Gaara is no longer there -apparently he's the only one in Suna pushing for an alliance.

Shisui sat quietly for a while, before finally speaking up. "Yes... it is crucial that we set up alliances and centralize our power, in case things occur much faster than we anticipate them to." Shisui agreed. "But this does not apply to just Suna," Shisui added. "Has Tsunade-sama made any efforts to contact the countries with the remaining Jinchuuriki?"

Sakura sighed. "From what I've come to know, relations with Kiri are, and may in fact, forever be crippled due to their assault on the Haruno Clan, despite the proclamations that the act was committed by a separate branch not at all following the orders of their Mizukage."

"These proclamations fall on deaf ears, due to the reputation of the previous Mizukage, Yagura though, and with good reason. He didn't even seem deeply regretful of the actions that occurred that night, which left many to believe that the proclamation had actually been more of a slap in the face to all of Konoha than anything else." Sasuke decided to pitch in, noticing Shisui nod as well, having heard of the bloody reputation of Kirigakure. "Their new Kage, Mei, seems rather promising and is working desperately and tirelessly to rebuild the reputation of the Bloody Mist though, which hasn't fallen out of Tsunade's attention." He explained.

"Even so, I feel like the Elders would be quick to point out that trusting Kiri would be a fatal mistake, and I feel like he could just as easily rally support from the villagers if he tried hard enough." Sakura explained with a sigh.

"And what about Kumo?" Shisui asked.

"Relations are actually running rather smoothly." Sasuke explained with a nod. "I suppose it doesn't hurt that B and Naruto have actually become pretty good friends. But mobilizing our units as one may be another story completely." Sasuke stated.

"As long as we have those initial relations, I'd say things are running smoothly though." Shisui shook Sasuke's last comment aside. "For now, what seems most crucial is to unite all four of these nations under one. Sakura, I trust that you are taking proper preparations to speak to their Kazekage, correct?" He looked at her with a pointed look.

"That is first on my agenda once I return." Sakura confirmed.

"Then I suggest you guys speak separately to Tsunade-sama about accepting some sort of truce, even if just temporary, with Kirigakure. You may not have the support of the nation as a whole, on either side, but as long as Mei is capable of understanding that protecting the Jinchuuriki above all else takes top priority, I believe that something may be agreed upon. The Elders be damned, Tsunade-sama has enough strong and intelligent shinobi by her side to support her. The Elders may have influence over the village, but even more influence is that which the shinobi hold over the people –after all, they are the ones that risk their lives to protect them, and if you have the clans such as the Nara, Hyuga, Uchiha, Haruno, Inuzuka, Aburame, Yamanaka, and so on and so forth trusting Tsunade one hundred percent, the villagers will be quick to fall in line."

Sakura and Sasuke both nodded in understanding. Shisui made a good point, this they could not deny.

"I'm sure I don't have to inquire on whether or not Jiraiya is focusing all of his efforts and contacts on finding out what Akatsuki's next steps are, so for now, perhaps have him see to the overall strength in leadership. If they, for one reason or another, do not fully cooperate and obey their leader, this leaves room for weakness and an eventual advantage to us. If we could perhaps have them destroy themselves from the inside out, it just leaves us to get rid of what's left."

And at the mention of this, a sudden thought popped into her head. _'Konan...'_

Kami, she had nearly forgotten all about it. There already _was _a break in authority, somehow. Hell, even Itachi, she could count him in slightly. "You're bloody brilliant Shisui." She decided, a light-bulb sparking in her head.

"Umm… Thank you? Can I ask what was so genius about that, exactly?" Shisui inquired. He had just been trying to cover all the bases, was all. The chances that an organization of such high caliber shinobi were dealing with hierarchy problems was probably slim to none, but even then it's worth making an effort. After all, if Itachi had smuggled himself into the organization perhaps somebody else had?

"It's nothing…" Sakura said, mentally thinking _'Nothing yet'. _It was a very slim chance, but something she could work with, nonetheless. "Just it's a good angle to look at, if all else fails." She added.

"Oh" Shisui merely stated, knowing that Sakura was absolutely lying, but figuring there was no reason to reveal something that was just a thought (an unlikely one at that), he decided to drop it. No use getting someone's hopes up with unconfirmed theories.

"Anyway," Sakura changed the subject "moving on to a different topic... Sasuke, Mikoto and I... we were wondering..." Sakura mewled over her words.

"Does it seem like a good time to have you join us?" It was Sasuke who interjected.

Shisui blinked; once, twice. "You're no longer in danger of being discovered and killed. Tsunade-sama will protect you from The Elders if need be, and as you said, it's important to centralize our allies and forces." Sakura tried to explain calmly. "Konoha misses you, Shisui"

_We miss you. Sasuke misses you..._

The implication was clear. "As much as I'd love to," Shisui began, "It is perhaps better to have an ally on the outside with no past." He shook his head, rejecting the offer. "My strengths will do us good here, where I can work in the background without being watched." Shisui began, "and if need be, I can come to the aid of Konoha as an undetected and random aid that they cannot see coming." He explained. "Things are better this way."

And although Sasuke knew him to be right, that didn't mean it didn't suck.

"I understand." Sakura said in confirmation, both for herself, and for Sasuke as well. "But now I think we should return to Konoha to begin arranging procedures for Suna." Sakura changed the subject altogether, standing up as an indication for Sasuke to do so as well.

Hesitantly almost, Sasuke followed suit.

"It'd be terrible of me," Shisui began, standing up, "If I just got reintroduced to my younger cousin after eleven years and didn't ask him to stick around a little longer before he take his leave." Shisui gave a small smile Sasuke's direction.

Sakura smiled at the interaction between the two male Uchihas'. "I'll tell Tsunade-sama you'll be gone an extra day, but no more Sasuke-kun."

"Is it really alright?" He looked at both Shisui and Sakura.

"I welcome you here Sasuke." Shisui was quick to dismiss him.

"And It would just be plain awful of me to deny you of this after having just been reacquainted to somebody you thought previously deceased." Sakura shook her head. "Don't worry, I'll be fine Sasuke-kun, it's just a day's travel. I'll be back home later on tonight." Sakura began stretching, walking towards the door of Shisui's quaint home. "Shisui, I know Sasuke's been dying to learn a thing or two from you. Why don't you take him out back to the forest and spar a bit with him?"

If Sakura hadn't been facing away from them, she would have been able to see the spark of excitement that flashed through both of their eyes. But why wouldn't it? It had been years since Shisui had actually sparred (Marika had once indulged him for his birthday years ago but that had been a once in a life time opportunity, for he found sparring with Marika was just terrifying), and he had been itching to get back on his feet. And well, as for Sasuke, he always loved a good battle, especially with a new opponent. "You don't have to tell us twice, Sakura." Shisui let out a grin.

"Are you sure you'll be fine Sakura?" Sasuke questioned with a pointed look. Frankly, he knew about Orochimaru wanting the Haruno, he knew first hand in all actuality, and having found out that Sakura was the heir was slightly unnerving, to say the least.

"Come on Sasuke, how often do I get into trouble?" Sakura scoffed at him, but having decided that her reputation as of late wasn't very impressive, she decided to change the subject before he could properly answer that. "I'll be fine." She stressed, allowing Sasuke to give her a small goodbye hug (she swore she would never get used to that), giving Shisui a cordial wave, and then heading off towards the exit of the village.

* * *

"Tobi is such a good boy!" Tobi shouted gleefully to himself. "Leader-sama will be so pleased with the bounty we collected today!"

Orochimaru sighed, ignoring his idiot of a teammate for what could be the twentieth time today. He swore, it felt like he was running a day-care for the mentally impaired, not running business operations for a top secret organization containing the most elite missing-nin of his generation. "Tobi, how about you go on ahead with the bounty we collected and go straight to the base?" Orochimaru suggested suddenly, mainly too irritated with the boy to continue to walk any further with him.

"And where does Orochimaru-senpai plan on going?" Tobi questioned.

"I have a lair nearby and I'd like to see how some of my experiments are doing." Orochimaru easily lied, as if it were second nature to him or something.

"And Tobi can't come along? Tobi feels like Leader-sama will be upset if we don't report to him together."

"It'll be fine Tobi, you can blame it on me if you have to."

"But Tobi doesn't want to get Orochimaru-senpai in trouble!" Tobi said in what could almost be sadness.

"Just go." Orochimaru insisted, and just for emphasis, began running off in the opposite direction that they were currently headed, back towards Kiri.

"Bye Orochimaru-senpai! Safe travels!" Tobi waved after him, waiting until Orochimaru was no longer in sight before he turned back around and began his trek alone. He swore, he had underestimated Orochimaru's patience –he had been hoping Orochimaru would leave him over an hour ago. He had nearly missed his rendezvous point with Zetsu because of it, and it would have looked highly suspicious if Zetsu was going out of his way to appear before Tobi –and although he didn't like to hand out compliments, Orochimaru was smart enough to know something was up if he were to see that.

Regardless, one way or another, he would have gotten rid of Orochimaru, he was sure.

_And the snake makes its appearance_

* * *

It was nearing midnight, Sakura was sure. Thankfully, she was pretty much away from any enemy territory, and was close to Fire Country Borders. Despite being tired, she had made a promise to Sasuke and Tsunade to be back the very same day, and she intended to at least keep that one, seeing as she had already failed in making sure she didn't travel alone. Regardless, although Himawari's pleads hadn't been unfounded, just the idea of running in to Orochimaru was absurd. _'What are the chances?' _Sakura could roll her eyes at that.

But unfortunately, it didn't seem like Lady Luck was on her side tonight...

But then again, when had it ever been, truthfully speaking?

_And the mouse makes its appearance_

* * *

It was nearing midnight and Orochimaru was just taking off from having visited his lair near the Fire Country. He knew perhaps this wasn't the safest of location to have one, but he knew there were certain perks to being so close to Konoha borders. After all, that's where his Haruno heir was, even though he didn't quite know who she was just yet (But he did have a hunch).

Unfortunately, all of his experiments thus far had turned out to be rather disappointing, so his mood was foul, topped with his irritation at having to return the Akatsuki headquarters that very same day, or Kami help him Pein would throw a fit at having disobeyed his orders.

Too caught up in his thoughts, he almost didn't sense the quickly approaching figure of a certain shinobi.

_Almost_

He bid his time patiently, hiding in the thick forests, waiting for said shinobi to pass, in fear that they would alert authorities and possibly have his base compromised. The last thing he needed was having that stupid Kyuubi brat show up and blowing a rasengan right through the heart and soul of all his experiments.

And too distracted with these thoughts, he almost didn't catch the trail of pink hair that passed right by him, the figure of a young woman, twenty at most, carelessly and effortlessly gliding through the thick and lush forests around the Fire Country.

_Almost_

But he did, and he had to do a double-take to confirm that he had indeed seen an unnatural shade of bubble-gum pink, and upon confirming that it was pink, and it was indeed natural, he couldn't help but smirk.

There was no mistaking it.

'_Well I'll be damned. Maybe Tobi is good for something after all.'_

_And the snake found its prey_

* * *

Sakura knew something was wrong, from the moment she stepped into the forest. All the creatures of the night, usually bustling in some way or another, were all but quiet, as if they were slowly watching, almost as if in fear of speaking up.

'_Mistress something feels amiss.'_ And Sakura couldn't agree more with her tree's statement, looking around suspiciously, her hands inching towards the kunai holster at her thigh.

_And the mouse stepped into the snake's trap_

* * *

All too quickly he was making handsigns, activating the traps he had set up all around the clearing, intent on not underestimating the Haruno like he had done years before. They were quick and witty and strong as hell to boot, so it was best he subdue her now and not play with his food like he had the first time around.

Toxic fumes spread around the area and by the time the poor little mouse figured out what was going on, she had already inhaled enough for it to begin affecting her balance and vision.

He watched and she quickly closed her eyes and covered her nose with her shirt, but he knew these attempts to be futile, and he knew by looking at her panicked state that she knew it too. She attempted to walk, but after having taken just a few steps, fell to the floor, too disoriented to know what side was up or even where the ground was.

Her eyes activated in a golden glow, an act that sent Orochimaru into a sadistic grin, as she searched all around her from her location on the floor, for the source of the toxin, but it was far too late by the time her eyes did manage to land on his own.

_And so the mouse fell for the trap_

* * *

She was done for.

She knew it just by seeing Orochimaru's golden orbs. She should have known something was up –all the signs had been there. She needed to get out… but how? This poison, she had never seen before. Even if she had, she didn't have an antidote on her, let alone somebody to give it to her. She noticed her limbs began to fail her, and soon enough she fell to the floor, unable to command her limbs to move.

'_Move Sakura… Move…' _she tried to tell herself, but her limbs failed to even let out a twitch. The toxin, whatever it was, worked fast, and she could feel herself slipping from reality.

'_Tree-san… help…'_

But as much as her contract wanted to, Sakura couldn't even release enough chakra for her to be able to lay a finger on the man.

_And so the mouse falls victim_

* * *

Orochimaru stepped down from the tree, cautiously approaching the fallen kunoichi. He surveyed her from a distance, waiting until he was sure she was completely immobilized, until he approached her. Their eyes met for a split second, and Orochimaru could swear that recognition flashed through her eyes –was it also fear? Dread, perhaps? She knew who he was, if not on a personal level, then perhaps from stories or bingo books. Regardless, he cared not. The flash of her golden orbs had been enough confirmation for him –he had finally captured a Haruno.

Her eyes began to slowly give out until she was fully knocked unconscious, and mentally, Orochimaru told himself that he would not fall for the trickery of the Haruno again. Fool him once, shame on you, fool him twice, shame on him, after all.

He picked up the Haruno, turning around to return to his lair near the Fire Country. But five minutes along his trip, his ring began to flash, and irritatingly, Orochimaru remembered that he was on a stupid mission that he still hadn't completed.

And so he put the Haruno down on a boulder and allowed his ring to create before him, a hologram figure of Pein. "Yes, Leader-sama?" Orochimaru tried his best to not sound angry, but he knew he was probably doing a terrible job.

"Tobi arrived hours ago. Where are you?" his voice was stoic and held much authority, which made Orochimaru that much angrier.

"I'm dealing with a prisoner, I'll be back in a few days-"

"You'll be back tonight." Pein cut him off. "This isn't some sort of bargaining or deal you can make. My organization, my rules."

"But my prisoner-"

"You'll bring him or her with you then. You'll be back tonight. Do I make myself clear, Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru glared viciously at the hologram. "Hai, Leader-sama."

And then the hologram was gone just as quickly as it had come, and Orochimaru was left fuming at nothing in particular. Leave it to Pein to beg him to join his organization, and then treat him like a puppet or some sort of washed-out rogue nin (it probably didn't help that he was paired up with the fool of the organization).

(Although if you ask Pein, he'd say something along the lines of "Leave it to Orochimaru to become the most temperamental ass in the entire organization." He had, after all, no regard for authority and was more preoccupied with his own agenda than that of Akatsuki as a whole, so he failed to be even remotely reliable when it came down to actually doing important things. Hell, he hadn't particularly even wanted Orochimaru, but he needed someone to fill the role.)

With an angry and frustrated growl, Orochimaru once more picked up the Haruno, tossing her over his shoulder, before he began making his trek to the Akatsuki base. He settled for a high-speed sprint, noticing that the sun would start to rise within two or three hours, and were he not out of the Fire Country by then, it would mean sure danger to him –after all, how does one kidnap a Haruno and expect to get away if somebody sees them? It was just highly improbable. And with that thought in mind, he took off at a high speed.

* * *

Sayuri awoke at four in the morning, as per usual to her daily routine. She'd make herself a quick breakfast, usually consisting of two pieces of toast, an egg, and some orange juice, and quickly begin training for about an hour or two with, depending on who was available, either Lee or Neji, and then begin her regular training with Ibiki starting at around 7.

But she knew that something was wrong the moment she stepped foot outside of her house, and so she abruptly turned around and went straight to Daichi's room.

"Oi. Get up." She commanded, barging into his room without knocking, as per usual.

"It's too early Sayuri. Leave me alone." He didn't even have to look at his alarm clock to know this chick was attempting to wake him up at some ungodly time of the morning, instead deciding to shove a pillow on top of his face, perhaps to drown out the sound of Sayuri's obnoxious voice, or perhaps to deny the light from reaching his eyes.

"Get up." She demanded once more, kicking the corner of his bed with enough force for it to begin shaking. "Something's wrong."

Daichi, although curious, did not get up from bed; hell, he didn't even remove the pillow from his face, expecting Sayuri to explain what exactly was so urgent to have her wake him up like this (although she would do this on a regular basis, if he were being honest. Still, she never did it under the pretext of having an emergency, and for her to do it now was rather peculiar, he had to admit).

"The Sakura trees in the compound are dying."

Daichi got up almost too quickly at her statement, deciding to go take a look for himself. Although still tired and half asleep, he did his best to pay attention as he went outside, Sayuri following shortly behind him. "Oh Kami..." He stared in disbelief; Sayuri hadn't been lying, unfortunately.

Sayuri dared asked the question plaguing both their thoughts. "Is she dead?"

There was silence as Daichi examined the tree. "I... I don't know."

For once it what could be ages, Daichi was stumped.

It didn't take long for them to awaken the remaining Harunos' and have them examine the trees themselves.

Himawari had approached the tree tentatively, placing her hand on it and pushing a pulse of chakra into it. "It is withering, not dead. It still has feint chakra signals pulsing through it." Himawari explained, opening her eyes and turning around to face her kinsmen. "It's a warning sign."

"How can you tell?" Sayuri was quick to speak up, curious as to how Himawari was able to speak to the tree.

"These trees are made with the unique ability of our kekkai genkai." Himawari stated. "As such, part of our own chakra and life energy are infused within our given tree or flower. This just means Sakura's chakra is waning. She's depleted, and she's in danger." Himawari looked straight at Hiroto. "It's got to be Orochimaru. There's no doubt about it."

Hiroto looked tentatively at the tree, almost as if hoping that by staring at it long enough that they'd be able to figure out where she was. "We need to go to the Hokage. Now." Hiroto began to turn around, briskly walking towards him home.

"Sayuri, try and see if you can track her. Have Daichi accompany you. Himawari, you and Marika come with me."

"I'm going to go see if I can get a hold of Sasuke." Marika shook her head, speeding off towards her apartment. She didn't even wait for Hiroto to agree or disagree with her. Frankly, she's the only one who knew of Shisui –the only one who knew his location other than Sakura. If Sakura was in danger there was a chance Sasuke and Shisui were too, and they needed to know everything before they get down to business. And so with this thought in mind, she raced to her apartment to write a letter.

The remaining Harunos' watched as Marika sped off, not even waiting for a response from Hiroto. "Leave her be, Sayuri, you and Daichi go. Himawari with me."

With a nod, Sayuri spun around. "I'll meet you at the Gates." And with that comment, she took off speedily, Daichi hurriedly returning to his home to get dressed.

**End of Chapter**

**And the plot thickens~~~ ;D**

**Don't worry guys, the fateful encounter between Sakura and Itachi is coming soon! Give me two or so more chapters! I am so eager to write this up you have no idea how far ahead I've gotten ^_^ **

**Questions? Conerns? Pointers? Critiques? Leave 'em all here!**

**Any and all feedback is back appreciate! The more review I get, the more likely I am to update faster guys ^_^**

**-MarzSpy**

**P.S. I'd like to do a quick little shout-out to _becauseiambatman1_ for reviewing on several of my stories so far ^-^ You've been my little inspiration for the past few weeks ^-^, and here is the new chapter a bit earlier than I wanted to post it, just for you ^-^ Hope you enjoy it!**


	4. Rescue (Again)

**Greetings! I am back with another chapter =] A little more action, a little more Itachi, a little more Kisame ^.^**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form.**

**Chapter 4: Rescue (...Again)**

* * *

"_Alright, I know you two have been very hesitant about accepting a temporary teammate, but I assure you that you two will get along with him just fine." _

"_Tsunade-baachan! Why can't we just... I don't know... do duo missions until Sasuke-teme and Kakashi-sensei come back from their training? I'm sure we'd be fine." Naruto exaggerated._

_Yes, Sasuke and Kakashi had taken an extended leave for some heavy and extensive Sharingan training, leaving Sakura and Naruto stranded without a formal team -as such, they were unable to go on missions (not that Sakura could complain all too much), but it was simply driving Naruto crazy. Yet, as desperate as he was to go on a mission, he was not as willing to accept a temporary teammate and sensei._

"_No Naruto, we wouldn't," Sakura rolled her eyes at Naruto as she snapped, "because we're barely Chunin, __**I'm barely Chunin**__," she emphasized, taunting Naruto for still being a Genin, "And we still need a sensei and a traditional three-man squad to work properly." Sakura rolled her eyes once more upon seeing Naruto's defiant huff. "I'm just curious to know who our captain will be." Sakura stated._

"_His name is Yamato, he's a very skilled and adept shinobi who's worked on several occasions with Kakashi, not to worry Sakura." Tsunade dismissed her worries. Sakura nodded, figuring if he was good enough to work with Kakashi on several occasions, then he was good enough to work with them. After all, their team wasn't exactly the easiest to work with, and they were rather high-maintenance. _"_Anyway, your new teammate is right outside, be prepared to meet him." Tsunade spoke as she got up and walked towards the door, swinging it open. "Sai, come on in." she held the door open for said shinobi._

_And in walked a pale boy with stark black hair and pale features, and the first thought that crossed through her mind was "Sasuke-kun", but after looking at him a little longer she was finally able to notice the difference between the two, this boy noticeably paler and taller, and also not having a ridiculous hair-style like Sasuke._

_Meanwhile there Naruto was, slowly looking at him up and down with a scrutinizing gaze, almost as if judging his character. "I don't like him already Tsunade-baa" He looked the opposite way with a stubborn expression, his arms crossed, "he looks too much like Sasuke-teme. I'm trying to get away from him, not get an identical replacement for him." He huffed. Kami, he was sure if he could just get a few weeks alone with Sakura, enough so that she could just partially forget what Sasuke looked like, that she would instantly fall for him!_

"_Pffft. Get real Naruto no Baka." Sakura scoffed with a roll of her eyes. Sasuke be damned, she couldn't help but think. He was most definitely **not** the reason that she didn't like Naruto, but no matter how much she insisted upon the fact that she most definitely did not like Sasuke-kun like that, Naruto was still convinced that she did._

_Oh, had he said that out loud?_

_Sai blinked, a forced smile appearing on his face as he examined the interaction between his two new teammates. Was being rude a way of showing you wanted to make friends? It was worth a shot, he decided. "Nice to meet you, Dickless", he nodded towards Naruto (his formality was enough to have Naruto erupt into a fit of anger and Sakura into a fit of laughter), and then he shifted his gaze towards Sakura, who curiously blinked as she waited for Sai to address her. He opened his mouth after several seconds and muttered but just one word. "Hag"._

"..."

"..."

"_Naruto's right, take him back Tsunade-shishou."_

"_He isn't a toy you can simply return to the store Sakura." Tsunade glared at Sakura's antics -she expected this from Naruto hands down, but Sakura? She had at least expected her to be a more little civil and professional about it._

"_I'm sorry, was your nickname not to your pleasing? I was trying to capture your personality perfectly. Should I go with Ugly?"_

_From the sidelines, Naruto tensed up, never missing how the temperature around the room always got a little hotter when Sakura got angry, to the point where she was about to castrate someone. At least it wouldn't be him this this time, he couldn't help but think, gulping nervously as he saw Sakura crack her knuckles._

"_YOU BASTARD! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT! SHANNARO!"_

"_Sakura-chan! No, wait, don't hit him ther—OHH..." Naruto tried speaking, because there was definitely no way he was going to get in between an enraged Sakura and her victim, but he flinched upon seeing her actions, feeling sorry for the guy, even if he had just met him. "No, Sakura-chan! Not there eit –oooh. Geez, that's __**gotta **__hurt. Sakura-chan doesn't even hit __**me **__there." _

"_Shut up or you're next!" Sakura shouted, returning to beating this so called Sai into a bloody pulp. She'd show him this so-called ugly personality of hers. Humpph._

_From her location on her desk, Tsunade couldn't help but sigh in dismay, shaking her head at her misfortune. Why were her shinobi so special?_

_'Thanks Kakashi' she couldn't help but think, wondering why exactly he had to kidnap Sasuke for three months for some special training._

* * *

'_**...****.-kura…'**_

'_**Sakura…'**_

'_Ughnnn…'_

When Sakura came to, she found that the only thing that awaited her was a massive headache and a pain so intolerable in her throat and limbs, she almost tried her best to allow herself to pass out once more.

Where was she? She could barely remember a damn thing, and the more she tried to think about it, the more her brain began hurting. But there was one thing she most definitely knew: Orochimaru. That damned bastard caught her for a _second time, _and part of her had a feeling she wouldn't be as lucky as the first time around, pertaining to Orochimaru discovering she was the heir, at least. Back then, she had been too old. Now, she was just the right age, and crossing out Sayuri and Himawari as possible heirs, there was really not much else to narrow down.

Kami, she was royally screwed, she just knew it. And so, knowing this, she began to pound her head against the metal bars of her cell, hoping that, if it didn't knock her out once more, at least it would numb her already unbearable headache.

"I see you've awoken."

Sakura didn't even look up, to where she knew she would inevitably find Orochimaru standing before her, and she definitely didn't bother responding to the snake bastard.

"You're pretty quick to recover from toxins." Orochimaru continued his musings.

Still, Sakura did not bother to respond.

"You seem awfully skilled to be able to get up after all the drugs I've pumped in your body. Could it be that you've encountered them before?"

And oh my Kami, this man would just _not _shut up. As an afterthought, she thought that yes, she had encountered them before, not this exact type of poison but if she was hypothesizing correctly, this must have been Sasori's poison, for she knew there was no way she would have recovered as quickly as she had were it not. She should have feigned still being knocked out, she was sure of it, for now she more than positively wouldn't be able to get him to stop. "Where am I?" she asked him, her tone rude and her eyes glaring fiercely at him.

"You're currently deep underground in the Akatsuki base." Orochimaru replied, almost as if being respectful or cordial about the matter. Like it mattered anyhow, it wasn't like any village knew where that was, and even if they did, there was no way they would try to infiltrate the base. Not to mention that there was no way of escape for the kunoichi –her reserves were all but depleted, to the point where she should barely even be able to stand. But he supposed, he had been proven wrong before, but that was why he had taken extra precautions as well.

Sakura asked nothing more –she didn't need to, and frankly, doing so would only encourage Orochimaru to speak more.

"You're the heir, aren't you?" Orochimaru inquired with a slick smirk.

Sakura said nothing, but it seemed to Orochimaru that her silence was sufficient enough information to reveal the truth. And with that, he walked out, clearly satisfied with himself, and in particular his find.

Sakura's heart beat increased as she watched him walk out. She had to think of a way out of here. _Fast._

_**'Sakura...'** _she could hear Matsuro's worried voice within her.

_'Don't worry, I'll find a way out of here...'_

**_'I'm going to try and find a way to get you out of here Sakura, don't worry.'_**

But Sakura shook her head at Matsuro's comment. _'It's best you remain safe, Matsuro. I'll be fine. You need to make sure Orochimaru doesn't get his hands on you.' _Sakura was implying that Matsuro should leave and reseal herself inside the scroll Sakura had found her in all those years ago. She had, after all, left it among her belongings at home, and Matsuro would definitely be safer there where she could not interfere and get in trouble.

_**'But Sakura-'**_

_'I'll be fine,' _Sakura stressed once more. '_I'll figure out a way out of here, I promise.'_

Matsuro said nothing, merely looking at Sakura skeptically, but complying nonetheless. _**'If you need me, you'll know where to find me.'**_And just like that, Matsuro was gone, and she felt the sudden silence sink in -it was kind of lonely, actually, having been used to two beings in her head prior to returning to her present time. But this was better, Sakura decided. Matsuro could finally rest, no longer using her own power to remain outside of her scroll. Now, she had to find a way to get the hell out of here.

* * *

"What do you mean she's been _captured?_"

"The tree doesn't lie Tsunade-sama." Himawari stressed. "Okaa-san taught me about the vitality and life of the tree imprinted upon us before she passed. There's no way I have this wrong."

"And you're sure it's Orochimaru?"

"We have no way of knowing." Hiroto spoke up this time from his position alongside Himawari. "But we don't want to take the risk if it is."

Tsunade bit her thumb as she processed the information before her. Goddamn it, it was five in the morning, she had been rudely woken up from her sleep, and now _this. _She could hardly think straight. "Get Kakashi in here now, and don't you _dare _let Naruto find out about this."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Hiroto bowed as he quickly took off towards the direction he knew to be Kakashi's apartment.

"Himawari, you go wake up Mikoto and explain the situation to her."

"Right away Tsunade-sama." And she too, was gone in a flash.

"AND SOMEBODY BRING ME SOME DAMN SAKE!"

But this proclamation fell on deaf ears, seeing as the only two shinobi currently awake had already left her office.

* * *

It was now nearing ten in the morning, and it had been roughly five hours since Tsunade was alerted of the possible kidnapping of Sakura.

"There's no way she wouldn't have been back by now. She promised she'd make it back in a day." Himawari stressed, nervously pacing Tsunade's office back and forth.

"Sasuke's missing too." Tsunade narrowed her eyes.

Just then, before they could speak anymore, Marika burst through the door. "I bring word from Sasuke." She was panting, having rushed over here as soon as she could.

All eyes turned to Marika, including Mikoto's, who had a look of complete terror in her face up until the mention of Sasuke's letter, and inadvertently, his safety. Marika rushed towards the Hokage and handed her the letter, allowing her time to read the letter she had already ripped open and read while she ran here.

"Apparently Sasuke stayed behind an extra day and Sakura returned without him that same night. _Yesterday."_ Tsunade spoke out loud, emphasizing the day. Although Mikoto was glad at knowing her boy was safe and sound, she couldn't help but fear for Sakura's sake. "Write back to Sasuke and tell him to get back here as soon as he can. Explain the situation." Tsunade returned the letter to Marika, who, with a quick nod, began to leave, but before she could take her leave through the window, two figures suddenly appeared with a poof in front of Tsunade, in a usual form of formality.

"Tsunade-sama." They greeted, standing up to reveal themselves as Daichi and Sayuri.

"With the help of my lilies, I was able to track Sakura's chakra patterns. It was strongest nearing the borders of the Fire Country." Sayuri began. "But there were also notable traces and high dosages of a poison, of which I haven't come across before." Sayuri explained. "Due to the poison, I wasn't able to track her much further, as it seems that her chakra was depleted or altogether blocked somewhere around the area, but it seemed to be headed away from the Fire Country, possibly westwards, before it grew too feint."

"Based on how little of a fight there seemed to be it's easy to assume that Sakura was caught off guard." Daichi spoke up promptly after Sayuri finished. "There are no indications of a fight anywhere in the area except for a lone kunai on the floor, presumably Sakura's," And as he said this, he pulled out the kunai, placing it on Tsunade's desk, who was quick to examine it and confirm that it was indeed a kunai crafted in Konoha. "Whoever did this caught her off guard and kidnapped her without a fight. That is indicative that the kidnapper must be a high-caliber ninja, which goes along with our theory that it might be Orochimaru."

"Damn it." Tsunade let out a whisper as she bit her thumb, contemplating their next move.

"Marika, you excel highly with poisons; go send that letter and have Sayuri and Daichi accompany you back to the site. Figure out the toxin, what it does, and what was in it, and then report back to me." Tsunade ordered.

With a quick "Hai," all three of them left respectively.

The remaining occupants in the room, Kakashi, Mikoto, Hiroto and Himawari, all looked at her expectantly. "Assuming this was Orochimaru, there's a high probability that he fled to Akatsuki. We can't let Naruto find out until we can assess everything for sure. Be on high alert and await my instructions until Marika returns with an analysis of the toxin."

"Tsunade-sama, shouldn't we send out a few units? Perhaps we could pick up a scent. Kurenai's team are a strong tracker team, perhaps we could-" Kakashi tried to suggest, but Tsunade cut him off.

"Sending out a team so suddenly would alert people. We don't need Naruto to put two and two together just yet. We can't have him going commando and shouting in front of the Akatsuki base while they're down our throats." Tsunade shook her head. "We wait until we have confirmation that it's Akatsuki before we make a plan. Dismissed." Tsunade hurriedly turned around and returned to her desk and the remaining shinobi one by one left her office.

Once gone, Tsunade allowed herself to slam her fist on her desk, enough brute force to break it in half, and have all the paperwork that had been left on her desk to fly upwards. "Damn it Sakura..."

* * *

"Sakura's been captured..." It had been but a whisper on Sasuke's behalf as he dropped the letter that he had just received from Marika's jasmine bud to the floor. It was foreboding enough that Marika had sent Shisui a letter demanding he tell them where Sakura and Sasuke were, and if they had left already, and now this...

Shisui looked back at him, his eyes wide in confusion but remaining relatively collected. "What?" He couldn't have possibly heard that right.

Sasuke turned to look at Shisui. "She's been captured Shisui... They think it's Orochimaru." He stood there, stunned for several seconds. "I have to get back." He was gone before Shisui could even have time to respond or bid him good-bye.

And as he sped off, faster than he had thought himself possible of, one thought struck him. _'This is my fault.' _Because had he been a responsible shinobi and friend, he would have known that Sakura's safety was more important than his selfish desires. He knew Orochimaru was looking for her, knew that Himawari had specifically requested she not travel alone, and he failed to comply to even these wishes.

Shisui was quick to pick up the letter Sasuke had dropped, reading over the contents fairly quickly.

_Return as soon as possible. Sakura's missing. There seems to have been a confrontation somewhere in between Konoha and your current location. We think it's Orochimaru._

Shisui crumbled the piece of paper. God damn it Sakura. He hurriedly returned to his study, grabbed a piece of paper, and sloppily wrote one single sentence on it.

_Keep me posted._

_-S.U._

He rolled it up, returning it to the jasmine bud that was still sitting atop his flower pot -it had been a way Marika and he communicated whenever they needed to. The jasmine bud wrapped itself around the rolled up scroll, and suddenly sunk back into the soil, disappearing.

And then he returned to his room, taking out a variety of weapons he hadn't touched in nearly a decade.

* * *

Kami she was hungry.

Sakura groaned, banging her head against the solid rock wall behind her. Being chained was no fun; having no chakra was especially no fun. And being hungry? Well, it just made her cranky -mad, even.

But, at least, Sakura tried look on the positive side of things, she could see, which was a vast improvement from when Orochimaru had captured her in the past, and she also knew where she currently was –sort of.

She was in the Akatsuki base, obviously, but she couldn't exactly calculate where. She had been knocked out for who knows how long, so she couldn't calculate the day or the hour that she had arrived –if she could, she could perhaps calculate how far away she was from her original kidnap point, which would have been helpful.

Kami this sucked.

Before Sakura could have any more time to think to herself about how much this sucked, a door opened, and she could hear steps –no doubt Orochimaru's, as he approached her cell. He dropped down a small metal tray and kicked it in, Sakura staring at its contents, a piece of dry bread and a bottled water, almost as if he had been reading her mind.

She refused to stare at him as she reached out for the tray and quickly took the bottled water, refusing to give him the satisfaction of eating the food –who knew what he had done to it anyway. It was probably laced with all sorts of drugs and poisons, and Sakura was clearly not stupid enough to accept that. "So what's your name, Haruno-chan?" he questioned with an amused smirk.

"Go to hell." she grumbled, wiping her mouth from the water that was currently dripping from it.

"Come on, I gave you some food, how about you do me the favor of telling me your name? A favor for a favor." he insisted. Sakura grabbed the tray and quickly chucked it towards Orochimaru, having it hit the metal bars loudly and then promptly hit the ground, the bread all but forgotten in the dirty floor. "My, that's not very nice." Orochimaru mused.

Once more, Sakura refused to speak to him, settling instead for turning around, refusing to face the Snake Sannin, mentally snorting and thinking _kidnapping a person twice and trying to take over their body isn't nice_.

"It's fine, if you want food, you'll have to speak to me eventually."

Sakura sneered at his comment, mentally thinking _'Try me, you snake bastard.'_, but said nothing to him. After all, it would only fuel him.

Promptly afterwards, Sakura heard steps getting further away, until she heard the door shut close –she was alone once again.

_'Alright Sakura, you've got one shot.' _she mentally told herself, closing her eyes and concentrating the chakra in her core. The poison's effects were waning, just the slightest bit, and as such she had just the smallest window of opportunity.

* * *

"The toxins were made specifically for shutting down the nervous system, as well as the chakra pathways, to induce temporary paralysis and chakra block." Marika spoke. "The poison is highly advanced, and I've only ever seen a poison of this caliber on one other occasion." Marika spoke, regret filling her entire body as she mustered up the strength to say the next few words. "This poison is no doubt Sasori of the Red Sand's expert work."

And there it was –all the confirmation they needed. This was Akatsuki they were dealing with, there was no doubt about it.

"Send the tracker team." Tsunade merely stated.

"Hai." Sayuri was already on the floor bowing, and as soon as Tsunade gave her command, she had disappeared, racing to find Kurenai's tracker team.

* * *

Upon reaching Konoha, Sasuke took a speedy run towards the Hokage tower. Halfway there, he was joined by Naruto, who was looking as goofy and childish as ever –it almost pissed Sasuke off, he decided, glancing at the blonde with an annoyed look.

"Hey Sasuke-teme, wanna go get some ramen? I haven't eaten yet."

Sasuke chose to ignore him, knowing that talking would only make him lash out at Naruto. But how could he not? The past seven hours all he could think was that Sakura, his Sakura-neechan, was gone, _kidnapped,_ and it was all his fault. _His fault. _

"Come on, it's not that early, you shouldn't even be this moody." He tried to nudge Sasuke, but just the slightest touch and Sasuke turned on him with a glare so ferocious, grabbing the collar of his jacket and lifting him up menacingly, his anger spiked and his Sharingan activated.

"Back off." he released Naruto suddenly, somewhat shoving him, and then he was back to running speedily towards the Hokage tower, his point having been made -get the hell out of my way.

Naruto tried to catch up to him, but upon thinking about the vicious-ness in Sasuke's tone, his steps faltered, watching as Sasuke kept on running, just now taking in the fact that Sasuke was running at top speed towards the Hokage tower. He caught up easily within a matter of seconds, suddenly realizing that something was off, and it made Sasuke upset, whatever it was. "What happened? And say, weren't you on a mission with Sakura-chan?"

And the fact that Sasuke didn't dare look at him in the eye was enough to tell him something was seriously, _seriously _wrong.

Both of them stopped running, Naruto suddenly becoming more aggressive, and Sasuke realizing that no one had told Naruto. "Sasuke-teme, where's Sakura-chan?" Silence erupted between the two of them, and right around the eighth or so second Naruto became extremely aggressive, it now being his turn to lift Sasuke by the collar as he looked away uncomfortably. "Where is Sakura-chan, Sasuke?" the nickname was gone, thrown out the window, indicating Sasuke that he was no longer messing around.

He turned to look at Naruto, and the look Sasuke gave him was enough to have dread fill Naruto's being, as he hurriedly released Sasuke and opted to run to the Hokage tower.

* * *

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SHE WAS MISSING?!" Naruto cried out, enraged, as he punched Tsunade's wall, noticing her desk couldn't even be punched anymore –it was already castrated, after all. How did she manage to get captured by Akatsuki? That was _his_ job, not hers, god damn it! The thought made his anger double, his hands balling into tight fists.

"Because you'd be reacting exactly as you are now." Tsunade glared, although trying her best to speak calmly.

"What are we all doing here? Why aren't we moving?!" Naruto demanded, looking around at the occupants in the room, comprised of Marika, Hiroto, Himawari, Mikoto, and Kakashi.

They all opted to remain silent, having no response to Naruto's question. Hiroto, Himawari, and Marika were all shifting uncomfortably from where they stood, wishing they could do just that but knowing they could not act without Tsunade's permission, whereas Kakashi and Mikoto stood there quietly, observing the situation and waiting for Tsunade's response (Kakashi had, after all, long ago suggested they send the tracker team, and that was all that could be done for the time being). Sasuke from alongside him said nothing, although he couldn't agree more.

"Sayuri, Daichi, and Shikamaru are all figuring out where they could have possibly taken her. We're doing everything we can right now. But you, _you're _not moving a muscle, you hear me?"

Naruto's nose flared in out-right defiance as he looked at Tsunade, his fists balled and his body exuding raw anger and power. He didn't say a word though –and honestly, that was worse than him screaming, Tsunade decided upon little thought. She preferred a contemptuous Naruto than an outright silent one –who ever knew what was going on in that head of his, and giving him time to think was never something she would want.

Before any moves could be made though, Shikamaru walked in with Sayuri and Daichi following slightly behind him, refusing to knock on the door to an office he practically shared with their lazy Hokage. "Doing a rough sketch, it's gotta be somewhere towards Suna." Shikamaru began, not bothering with the formal greetings. "Which makes sense, considering two out of four of the Jinchuuriki remaining happen to be smack in the middle of that. I'd say they'll be in between, somewhere in the border. If they made a base near Kumo and Konoha they would have literally sandwiched themselves, so the probability is unlikely. Where they're at now, they have safe zones in Amegakure and even Rock Country, and not to mention all of the Wind Country leaves them nearly impossible to track or chase." Shikamaru explained.

They sat in silence for a long time as they processed this information. "Alright, Kakashi, I want three teams. Team A will consist of Kakashi, Ino, and Sai. Team B, Sasuke," she gave him a nod as she picked him as leader, "Himawari, and Marika. Team C will be Hiroto, Sayuri, and Daichi." She stated. "You'll all go to the designated point in which Sakura was extracted and make your move from there. Spread out and search. You'll each meet up with a member of Team 8 and obtain a tracker to help you look. Do not make any confrontations if it's more than one Akatsuki member. If we're lucky we can cause enough of a distraction to allow Sakura enough time to escape or at least locate her." Tsunade sighed. "And Naruto, you are to stay here-" Tsunade said, her eyes landing on Naruto,

At least, they would have, had he not already vanished.

"Damn it..." Tsunade shook her head. That temperamental kid never listened to a word she said! What was the use of being kage if she couldn't even protect their Jinchuuriki? "Just go! Go get Ino and Sai and just go! And get that boy and make sure he doesn't get himself killed!" she dismissed them all with several angry waves of her hands, sick and tired of the way her shinobi just constantly did as they wanted and went and did stupid things.

They were all gone in a flash.

* * *

'_Akatsuki took Sakura-chan...' _the thought made Naruto push chakra into his feet and run even faster. He had been gone the moment Shikamaru had said westward –in between Suna and Konoha. That was all he needed. He'd lure them all out and get Sakura-chan by force if need be.

And now he was on his way towards the borders of the Fire Country, and trailing along some kilometers behind him, he was sure, was bound to be Sasuke and Kakashi, and perhaps even Marika and Himawari. But he didn't care; they'd only be getting in his way. He couldn't fight recklessly if they were alongside him, after all.

Within the next half an hour, the distance between them had grown considerably smaller, Naruto having slowed down after he calmed down slightly, and within the next fifteen or so minutes of that, Kakashi, Sai, and Sasuke were alongside him.

"You're not supposed to be he here dobe." Sasuke mentioned absent-mindedly, staring up ahead as they ran.

"You going to stop me?" he grumbled in response, angry.

"Hn" Sasuke mumbled, and because Sasuke hadn't made any move to stop him, it was safe to say that he meant no.

"You have has much right as anybody to be worried for her Naruto." Kakashi commented, allowing himself to glance at Naruto for the slightest of seconds "But that doesn't give you the right to go off on your own for a suicide rescue mission." Kakashi explained.

"Let us all share the burden of saving her, Naruto." Sasuke said slowly. "It's all my fault for allowing her to travel by herself anyway." Sasuke looked down in bitter resentment.

"You couldn't have predicted the outcome of your decisions either, Spineless." Sai stated quietly, calling Sasuke by the name he had created over four years ago when they were first introduced to each other.

"But I knew I should have left with her." Sasuke said bitterly, his hands balling up into fists.

"We can play the who's-fault-is-it-anyway game after Sakura's safe." Kakashi interrupted. "For now, it is crucial we get her back." Because as Kakashi had learned over eleven years ago, Sakura was a vital piece of the puzzle. They needed her and her power and skill, regardless of whether or not she had yet achieved her utmost potential –which she hadn't, if he were being honest. If she was strong enough to take on an Akatsuki member and win at the age of fifteen, without the help of her kekkei genkai or having any knowledge of it, for that matter, Sakura would be a star to exceed the expectations of Konoha in the future.

She was a rising star alongside Sasuke and Naruto, and the three of them, he was proud to say as their sensei, would go down in history as Legends.

"We'll be arriving at our destination in approximately fifteen minutes." Sai commented in the sidelines.

Kakashi nodded. "Let's return to formation. Naruto, you stick with me."

And so it had been.

* * *

"Word has it Sasori and Deidara are going to be after the One-tail pretty soon."

"Hn"

"I have a feeling Pein-sama will have us all searching for the Six-tail pretty soon, though."

"It is likely."

"It sounds like a pain."

"Hn"

Conversations with Itachi were rare in and of itself. Kisame didn't mind though –he'd take Itachi any day over somebody like Deidara or Tobi. Plus, although he wouldn't ever really admit it, he had grown fond of Itachi. He was a smart kid, capable of pulling his own weight (and even Kisame's, if he were being serious), and, although they had rather opposite personalities, they had a similar approach to their way of life, and Kisame deeply respected that. Plus, it never did hurt that they have a friend in common –or had, for that matter. Although he hadn't gotten much of an opinion on Itachi eleven years ago when they had first met due to the kunoichi, he had noticed Itachi's loyalty, and it had been attractive enough of an attribute for Kisame to respond well enough to Itachi for the years that came.

A crow suddenly appeared from the distance, flying towards them until it perched itself atop Itachi's shoulder.

"Konoha-nin are headed our way." He spoke quietly.

"How many?" Kisame questioned.

"Thirteen, three groups." Itachi said quietly. "They're stretched out over a large area."

"Search party?" Kisame questioned, an eyebrow raised in question.

"Seems likely. The Kyuubi is among them." Itachi confirmed.

"Oh?" Kisame piped in, intrigued. "Should we try to capture him?" he questioned.

Itachi did not speak for a while. "We are close to headquarters. Bringing attention upon ourselves may not be a good idea."

"Unless they're _searching _for headquarters." Kisame emphasized.

But what were the chances of that? Deciding that Kisame had brought up a good point, he sent his bird off once more, and they continued on their journey back to the base in a calm walk. Fifteen minutes later, the crow came back, and Itachi couldn't help but wonder how much more idiotic Konoha nin could get.

"Disrupt them." He merely commented, and it was enough to have a grin emerge from Kisame's face. "Sounds like fun." he shifted his sword slightly, making it a little more accessible for him.

* * *

"Kakashi-san." Hinata was quick to speak up, leading the front of the group alongside Kakashi.

"Hai?"

"I'm seeing two figures approaching us fast." She spoke nervously. "I think they might be-" Hinata didn't have time to finish as Kakashi suddenly swapped courses, abruptly jumping to the left, leaving Hinata and the rest of their team no choice but to follow.

"See if they're following us." Kakashi commented.

And indeed, after a few minutes, they had changed their course as well. "H-Hai."

Kakashi abruptly stopped dead in their tracks, looking around carefully.

"What's the meaning of this Kakashi?" Kakashi did not bother to respond to Ino's question, who settled for looking at Hinata curiously. She looked down hesitantly, not wanting to face them and tell them the truth.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, watching as Kakashi suddenly pulled off his mask and allowed his Sharingan eye to open. He looked up, examining their surroundings, and visibly tensed up once it seemed he had spotted what he had been looking for.

"Itachi's crows have been tailing us for who knows how long now." He covered his Sharingan once again. Ino, Sai, and Naruto all tensed up at the statement, as he looked back at Hinata. "That's no doubt Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha approaching us now."

"What are your orders?" Sai asked.

"We don't have much of a choice now." Kakashi sighed, giving Naruto a pointed look. "And this is why you remain in Konoha next time." He tried not to roll his eyes. "Hinata, once confrontation occurs, you sneak away and alert the others. There's no way they'll try to fight amongst a group of twelve."

"H-Hai!" Hinata squeaked.

"Ino, you are our healer, stay back until needed. I'll handle Itachi. Sai, Naruto, you two focus your strengths on Kisame."

"Roger"

"Hai"

"You got it"

* * *

"Look what we have here. The Nine-Tails practically delivered to our feet. What a nice present." Kisame sneered in mock gratitude.

Naruto didn't speak up, knowing that Kisame was just trying to rile him up. Instead, it was Kakashi who spoke. "You have our friend. We want her back." Kakashi simply stated, taking this time to size up their opponents.

"Oh?" Kisame questioned, temporarily flashing Itachi a small glance, almost as if asking if he had any idea about what they were talking about. "I'm sorry but I can assure you if we had your friend, I reckon she is long gone by now." Kisame noticed how the Kyuubi brat suddenly took a menacing step forward, and inwardly grinned, knowing he hit a soft spot.

"Don't... don't speak about her that way." Naruto glared. "Give her back." He demanded, suddenly feeling anger well up within him, much sooner than he had expected it to come -was this Kyuubi's doing?

Kisame sneered. "You're awful demanding for someone who's about to get the life sucked out of them... At least you'll be reunited with your friend, right? She must have been in so much pain up until her death. Trust me, she's in a better place."

"Kisame" Itachi warned quietly, although Kisame settled for flashing him a grin, almost as if assuring Itachi that he knew what he was doing.

Naruto's eyes grew red, and cautiously, Kakashi called out his name, but to no avail. "Sakura-chan is alive. I know she is." Naruto glared viciously, suddenly attacking head on.

But he wasn't the only one. All at once a flurry of ink lions pounced from all directions towards the two Akatsuki members, but both seemed prepared, Itachi un-moving as Kisame began fighting with Naruto. He pulled out several shuriken and in the blink of an eye, all the ink lions fell down in splotches, leaving Kisame to deal with the Jinchuuriki in peace. Before he could watch the scene unfold before him, Kakashi was suddenly on top of him, a Raikiri aimed at his abdomen, but even this he saw coming, and as it was piercing his skin, the real Itachi was already halfway across the battlefield hurling a fire jutsu at Kakashi.

'_So fast.' _Kakashi barely had time to react once he realized the Itachi he had just blasted a hole through was a fake, getting out with just a few seconds to spare. Kakashi noted that, ally or not, Kakashi had to go at him with the intent to kill -or else he'd end up dead, he was sure.

Itachi allowed himself the time to look over at Kisame's fight, who was hardly struggling while holding off two men, all the while snickering and taunting Naruto with talks of a deceased "Sakura-chan".

But this didn't cease Naruto's angry outburst, and if anything fueled him to far greater lengths. At one point, Kisame knocked him with full force backwards, and he suddenly set his eyes on Itachi, completely forgetting his previous target. "Where is Sakura-chan?! Give her back!"

Partially annoyed at realizing Kisame had angered the Jinchuuriki to the point where his red demonic chakra began leaving his body and had quite literally tossed him to Itachi to take care of, he couldn't help but ignore Kakashi as his attention focused on Naruto, one tail already successfully formed and the other, he was sure, not short from it as well.

"We don't have your precious Sakura-chan, but we'll gladly take you!" Kisame grinned, getting out his Sameheda and easily shredding through all of the ink lions that Sai sent his way.

And there he was, yet again, taunting the Kyuubi that _he _wasn't dealing with.

"You're lying!" he sneered, fangs protruding from his mouth, his eyes flashing red as he glared at Itachi. "Give her back to me!" And suddenly they both clashed, and it was too much for any of the remaining members on the field to take, as Naruto's great momentum kicked up trees and dirt and rocks all around them.

Naruto backed off, the nails on his hands and feet now more identifiable as claws as he got on all fours.

"Naruto, Itachi is not your target." Kakashi tried his best not to shout, noticing that Naruto was becoming much more unstable than he had predicted -at least, definitely much quicker. "Control yourself now Naruto! Don't let that beast take control of you." He tried to demand, but Naruto heeded no warning as he charged once more at Itachi, who made quick work of dodging and evading everything Naruto threw at him. Mentally, Naruto tried to heed Kakashi's advice but everywhere he saw, everything was red and he had the strongest desire he had ever felt to shred someone to pieces. Is this perhaps the animosity and killing intent that Gaara experienced due to Shukaku? It sure felt like it.

Before Kakashi could try to even stop Naruto, there was suddenly a Sameheda inches from his face, and had it not been for Sai's tanto, he was sure he would have been shredded. When had Kisame grown so fast?

As Kakashi looked back at Naruto, he saw Itachi quickly go through a set of handseals, and recognizing it, turned around rapidly, only to see that Kisame was no longer in the clearing. "Everybody back!" he ordered, and it took no time for Sai and Ino to get the message that something bad was going to happen –hell, even Kisame had bailed out of the clearing, knowing this.

And suddenly a giant explosion erupted, one so great that it knocked all three of the Konoha shinobi right off their feet and had them face first into the ground by the sheer shock-wave of the explosion, even though they had already backed off considerably.

Before the dust even cleared, they could already tell that Naruto would be in serious trouble. "Ino, get ready to heal him." Kakashi demanded, going back in, Sharingan activated, to try and obtain Naruto before either Kisame or Itachi got their hands on him.

And so they quickly fled the scene, Naruto tossed over Kakashi's back, Sai using his ink summonings to buy them time to escape.

* * *

"Is it fine to just let them go?" Kisame asked from atop a tree, watching as the three shinobi scurried off, the older of the three carrying a wounded Jinchuuriki.

"A full-scale confrontation is not necessary right now." Itachi merely replied, watching their retreating figures for a few seconds before turning around and walking away. Kisame followed suit a few seconds afterwards.

"I wonder who it is they think we have." Kisame pondered out loud.

Itachi flashed him a glance for a split second, before staring back ahead. "No clue."

And he could have never guessed either.

* * *

"We're back."

There were no words exchanged between the Akatsuki members, as usual, as Kisame and Itachi stepped inside the base, or more specifically, the kitchen/living room of the organization. Looking around, they found only Sasori and Deidara, Orochimaru probably off doing some creepy experiments and Tobi, well, who exactly knew, but who exactly cared anyway?

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you got in an altercation." Kisame turned to see Sasori examining them. "Based on the singeing of your coat." Sasori pointed to the hem of Itachi's sleeves. Itachi did not bother with a response.

"Just a few pesky shinobi getting too close for comfort to the base, was all." Kisame responded, dismissing Sasori's curiosity.

Deidara stared for a few seconds, before he turned back to Sasori. "As I was saying Sasori-danna, I caught a peek of her; nothing that you'd imagine Orochimaru taking interest in, un."

"You snuck into his lab?" Sasori questioned –if Orochimaru ever found out, well, there'd be hell to pay.

Deidara shook his head. "Orochimaru has her locked up in the prison cells, yeah. Hasn't touched her since he dropped her off, un. Rather strange, no? He would have usually placed _at least _the cursed seal on her by now."

"It is rather odd. Then again, I don't particularly care." Sasori explained, brushing his teammate aside. When had it ever looked like he was interested in gossip, or about Orochimaru's business, especially? Just because he and Orochimaru had been teammates up until Hidan's and Kakuzu's defeat didn't mean he was buddies with the Snake Sannin, after all.

"Well, I don't particularly care either un. She just had the strangest pink hair I've ever seen, un."

And from their location, walking out of the kitchen and heading to their respective rooms, neither Itachi nor Kisame could stop themselves from overhearing this piece of information. The difference was, Kisame turned back; Itachi did not.

"Did you say pink hair?" Kisame questioned.

Both pairs of eyes turned to Kisame, blinking curiously. "Yeah" Deidara confirmed. "It's weird, right, un?"

"Yeah... how long ago was she brought here?" Kisame ignored Deidara's question for the most part.

"I'd say just the other day, un." Deidara responded, a raised eyebrow curiously wondering why Kisame was inquiring.

"Did you manage to catch a look at her eyes at all?" Kisame questioned.

In response, Deidara shook his head. "She had been passed out when I went in there. Such a shame too, she's actually kind of cute, yeah. If she had green eyes she'd look just like a little porcelain doll."

At the mention of "doll" Sasori's ears perked up in interest, but he said nothing.

"Did you see around how old she looked?" Kisame asked.

"Possibly around twenty; who knows, un. I'm not good with age, yeah. Why, do you know her Kisame?" Deidara questioned in interest. Sasori as well looked on, waiting for an answer.

"Uhhmm, no not particularly, she just sounds like somebody I used to know, is all."

"Oh" Deidara said nothing more. "Used to?" he questioned.

Kisame confirmed. "She's uhh..." he held back the urge to look upset at his next words, "she's long gone now. Dead."

"Oh..." Deidara said nothing more, absent-mindedly wondering when it was that Kisame ever bothered to make friends in the past, not at all surprised by the news; they were shinobi after all, short life spans were to be expected. Plus, it wasn't like the Bloody Mist was exactly known for being amiable with people. Then again, he guessed he couldn't talk -he blew people up for a living and he still enjoyed the company of his danna.

'_It couldn't be... could it?' _Kisame thought, not paying attention as Deidara and Sasori, once again, got into another argument about art (brought upon by Deidara's mention that the girl looked like a "doll").

And from his place on the other side of the wall, Itachi also quickly walked off before Kisame noticed that he had been there the entire time. After a few minutes, Kisame was alongside him, seemingly unaware of the fact that Itachi had been eavesdropping in a sense. "Umm... Itachi...?" he didn't know how to bring it up –but he was sure that Itachi had heard the same thing he had.

_Her hair was pink_

And if Konoha-nin accusing Akatsuki of kidnapping a friend, a female friend, was an indication of anything, it was that whoever Orochimaru had, _whoever the pink-haired, twenty-ish year old person was, _she was from Konoha, and her name was Sakura, and that was enough of a coincidence for him to feel awfully uncomfortable.

"Do you... do you think this is... _that _Sakura?"

Itachi didn't dare respond to that. Because he dare not think it, after ten years, that it was her. Even if the eerie coincidence was enough to set his heart beating a little faster, he knew the chances, _when his mother herself had told him that Sakura was gone, _were so small he shouldn't even think it.

After about a minute, Kisame simply gave up on an answer from him. Frankly, he knew it wasn't in his place to ask or inquire anyway. Itachi had told him she was dead, so why should he even bother? Itachi had been certain, and he could still remember the day as if it were just yesterday.

* * *

_Kisame hadn't really expected himself to do this. But after assassinating several political heads from Kirigakure and receiving a tempting offer to boot, there wasn't much of anywhere else to go or much to refuse, for that matter. He liked power, so why not join the organization with their eyes set on dominating the entire world –a world of truth? It seemed fitting, he thought. "Kisame Hoshigaki" Kisame looked up from his musings to see their "Leader", ready to assign him his partner –hopefully he wouldn't be too annoying, or too much of an incapable weakling. The only thing he hated more than an annoying person was someone who couldn't pull their own weight. "Your partner," he stated, as Kisame stared at the door expectantly, hearing footsteps approaching._

_And in walks Itachi Uchiha, and for a second, Kisame couldn't believe that he was actually seeing Itachi for the second time in his life. "You've gotta be kidding me!" he watched in disbelief as Itachi approached Kisame, staring at him as recognition flashed through his eyes. _

"_Meet Itachi Uchiha."_

_Somehow, he felt like this partnership would pardon a friendship._

_With a nod and a formal greeting, the hologram of their leader disappeared and Kisame and Itachi were sent off on their first mission together._

"_Never thought I'd see you again, kid." Kisame mused. It must have been over a year since they had last seen each other, 'thanks to Sakura,' he thought, and the kid was barely fourteen, if that, and was probably one of the deadliest people in this organization, he had to admit._

"_Hn" was the most Itachi bothered with as far as a response goes, but he was walking alongside Kisame, an action that merited some points for the Uchiha anyway. He wasn't known for being amiable after all, so even this courteous gesture was enough to show Kisame that Itachi was giving him some form of respect, a sign that he clearly remembered the Kiri-nin. _

_Kisame was smart enough to not ask about his family –even he had heard of the terrible massacre. At least, Kisame could somewhat relate. _"_You left the kitten." Kisame acknowledged somewhat warily. Even though he had only seen their interactions for a few days tops when he had gone on that silly rescue mission to save that pink hairball, it had been enough to identify that whatever 'it' was, it was there –something, not completely tangible and full-proof, but the emotions had definitely been there, for both the kunoichi and the S-Class missing-nin that stood before him._

_Itachi didn't bother to respond –the emotions were still there. They were fresh and the wounds were still wide open, even though he did a spectacular job at hiding it._

"_And how is she doing?" Kisame was genuinely curious, not letting the lack of response deter him from asking about her, knowing by now that Itachi wasn't much of a talker anyway –he had made a friend in her, albeit, she was sort of like a child compared to him, but she had been knowledgeable beyond her years and had made for easy-going company, despite the fact that he was a seven foot tall monster with nothing but malicious intent._

"_She is dead"._

_The words that left Itachi's mouth left Kisame frozen to the spot, as he pondered this information. Itachi did not bother to wait for him, going on ahead, noticing how the words had left an distasteful bitter taste in his mouth. Because even if he didn't know if it was true or not, it is what Madara believed, and it is what Madara had to keep believing if Itachi wanted to remain an ally to him for the time being. And, not to mention, if she were alive, then where was she? Mikoto confirmed it herself that she was gone, and could offer him no more than that. Meanwhile, there Kisame was, wondering what exactly he had meant by that. There were two options: Either his clan had killed her, or ... well, he had._

_Frankly, he didn't have the guts to ask him which it was, but it was obvious enough, if his demeanor was any indication of it, that it still affected him, and Kisame had no right to do this to him._

"_I'm sorry" was all he commented, once he caught up to Itachi's pace and was once again walking alongside him._

"_Hn"_

_He had no words to say to that, so instead opted to remain silent. But, Kisame thought, perhaps this was better for the Uchiha kid anyway. Love warranted no place for someone living in their line of work. He had gotten to dip his feet in, get a feel for it, and for having been able to do even that, the kid was blessed, Kisame couldn't help but think._

___And if Kisame knew a little more Uchiha language at that point in time, he would have known that Itachi was trying to say "I'm sorry too." _

* * *

Kisame sighed. There was simply no way... but it would be nice to think she were still around, he decided. She had been too young; too innocent for her own good, perhaps. It could have damn well been what killed her, his inner musings thought ironically. _'A person like her doesn't deserve to die so young.' _Kisame thought, turning around and walking the opposite direction as Itachi, heading to his room. But, he supposed his thoughts rang especially true here: love definitely had no place in their line of work. Not just love, but trust... friendship; loyalty. These were all things that just got in the way and made you think you had a reason to live; a reason to fight. In truth, it only ever meant a reason to die quicker.

At least, this had been what Kisame always thought, but even just meeting the pink-haired kunoichi for the shortest of days had made him question this belief.

And now... well, he didn't know what to think now, but if there was one thing that he was certain of, it was that he was damn fond of the Uchiha he had as a partner, and if there was anyone in this world he would consider a friend, it was definitely him.

* * *

It must have been nearing late afternoon, perhaps around six, when suddenly there was a tremor in the Akatsuki base.

Due primarily to curiosity, Kisame couldn't help but investigate. Upon stepping out into the hall, he found Konan as well, hurriedly rushing towards the source of the shake, which definitely began somewhere deeper and further down. Alongside her, the two of them made their way downstairs, not a word spoken between the two of them, and with growing forewarning, Kisame realized they were going down to the prison cells.

"_Let. Me. **Go."**_

And then another shake, and Kisame saw a kunoichi dash forwards, and their eyes met for the slightest of seconds, his small, beady white eyes clashing with that of the deep, emerald green of her own, before she was knocked to the ground, a snake easing its way up her legs before it bit her, somewhere along the thigh, and she was quick to fall unconscious once again.

Alongside him too, Konan seemed speechless, staring at the passed out kunoichi on the ground.

"Don't mind me... just having a little difficulty with my prisoner. Harunos' can be quite difficult." Orochimaru mused, appearing from somewhere down the hall, watching as both Akatsuki members stared at him in morbid astonishment as he picked up the kunoichi and brought her back to a different cell, for she had done a fine job at completely destroying the one she had just been in.

How she managed to save up some chakra, and use it, for that matter, despite still having the poison in her system, was beyond him, but he guessed that he should have seen it coming.

And then Kisame and Konan were left standing there, speechless, until Konan too, turned around briskly and stormed off, almost as if she had been extremely affected by the scene that played out before them. And Kisame too, eventually turned around and walked away, obviously much slower than Konan as a thought struck him.

'_They look identical...'_

Walking back without even thinking, he found himself in the living room.

"What was that shake, un?" Deidara asked him.

Tentatively, Kisame looked up, snapped out of his inner musings, and commented briefly "Orochimaru's prisoner…"

And then he sat down, lost in his train of thought.

He didn't know when it had been, or how long he had been sitting down, thinking, but eventually, Itachi was before him. He looked up expectantly. "We have a mission. Let's go."

* * *

Sakura came to once more, a lot hazier than before, the pain she had been feeling probably two times as worse. What in Kami's name was Orochimaru lacing her with? It also probably didn't help that she was dehydrated and hadn't eaten anything since around the early noon she had gone to Shisui's with Sasuke. They had stopped for a brief lunch, and Sakura was now seriously mentally kicking herself for not having eaten more back then, whenever the hell that had been because she no longer had any idea how long she had been trapped in there; it could have been a whole week and Sakura wouldn't even know.

And then the door to the cell room opened once more, and she mustered the best glare she could, ready to take on Orochimaru, despite how much pain she was in or how groggy she felt.

And yet...

"Konan?"

* * *

Konan knew it was only a matter of time before Orochimaru approached Sasori. And so she made the proper arrangements and made sure she was there when he did so.

"Sasori." He called out, approaching said red-haired puppet master, who was sitting in the living room, watching as Deidara ate his lunch and quietly commented to himself how much easier it was not having to eat. Sasori, not particularly being fond of Orochimaru, for his experiments usually made quick work of Orochimaru's own "puppets", if you will, and left them deteriorating so quickly after having reached their highest peak of beauty, looked up in boredom and distaste. He did not speak, instead waiting for Orochimaru to say whatever it was that he needed to. "Is there any possible way I can get my hands on some of your stronger poisons?" he asked cautiously.

"Stronger?" Sasori inquired with a raise of his delicate eyebrow.

Orochimaru nodded. "Yes, my prisoner seems to need a stronger dosage."

"That little kunoichi you brought in?" Sasori questioned –there was no way somebody as small as her had been able to resist his toxins –there simply was no way.

"Considering she just blew a hole through the cell wall with an earth technique and nearly escaped, yes." Orochimaru stated.

Sasori eyed him peculiarly (as did Deidara, astonished that the little thing was able to cause so much destruction), figuring Orochimaru somehow messed up the dosage amount because there was _no way_ the kunoichi could have done such damage with no chakra, but complied nonetheless. "You'll have to wait while I make a stronger dosage." Sasori stood up and walked away, Orochimaru following shortly behind him.

Neither them nor Deidara had noticed Konan slip out of the room the moment Orochimaru stepped in it.

* * *

"Konan?" Sakura stared up at the fellow Haruno as she tossed Sakura a syringe.

"Quick, we don't have much time. Inject that, it's the antidote to the toxin Orochimaru's been giving you."

Sakura didn't even hesitate, quickly stabbing herself with said syringe.

"You have to get out before Orochimaru comes back." She stated. "Back away, I'm going to blow a hole in the wall and make it seem like you did it."

Sakura nodded, quickly going to the opposite side of the cell room and huddling close to it, using her arms to cover her head from the impact that was sure to come. Mentally, Sakura couldn't be any more grateful that she had learned of Konan's heritage while she was in the past.

* * *

From somewhere else in the base, there was another explosion. The ground temporarily shaking, Sasori turned around irritatingly. "I can't exactly make another batch when your prisoner is too busy wreaking havoc down there." He glared, completely convinced that there was _no way _Orochimaru _didn't _screw up the dosage now. One technique, perhaps she could squeeze in if she were skilled enough; two, especially with this degree of power, there was absolutely no way.

Orochimaru quickly took off in the direction of the prison cells, leaving Sasori alone and irritated.

* * *

'_Just run and don't stop. You'll feel the blockage on your chakra pathways fade in a few minutes. Blast holes through the base if you have to, just get out. I'll try and stall Orochimaru.'_

And so she began doing just that. Why follow the topsy turvy hallways of this damned base when she could just as well make her own?

Suddenly, from across the hall she could clearly see Orochimaru appear, a smirk plastered on his face, although Sakura could definitely tell that he was _entirely _pissed off at her escaping twice already. "Why you little..." Before he could even charge at her, he saw an origami bird appear and before he could even question it, it suddenly blew up, smoke filling the hallway and sending him flying, giving Sakura enough time to bust open another wall. It was then that she saw Konan, standing in between her and Orochimaru.

She approached her, giving her a quick embrace. "Follow this hall down all the way and break the last wall. You'll be home free, Sakura-hime."

Before Sakura could even thank her, Konan was pushing her away from a mirage of snakes, using her paper as a shield. "Go!" she ushered, and Sakura didn't need to be told twice. She was gone in the blink of an eye, running as fast as her feet could carry her. Upon reaching the wall, she quickly pulled back her fist and smashed the wall into smithereens.

"What's going on?! Tobi feels an earthquake!"

Sakura's emerald eyes clashed with the swirly orange mask of the man named Tobi, and before Sakura could give anyone any time to react, she took off, deciding that if this was the masked Uchiha she had encountered eleven years in the past, she didn't want to stick around to have him figure out she was the very same Haruno.

"Why is there a pretty pink-haired kunoichi smashing walls in Leader-sama's base?!" she could hear him call out in panic, but she paid it no mind. She was home free.

* * *

"Konan." Orochimaru seethed, stepping out of the debris that Konan had created with the explosion that had sent him hurling through a few walls.

_And let his Haruno heir escape, _the thought bubbled up anger within him.

"What are you doing?" he fumed.

"I owed her a favor." Konan simply stated, a glare in place.

"You just let my Haruno heir escape. You'll pay." Before she could even blink Orochimaru was on her, hurling snake after snake her direction, which Konan easily countered with her own explosive origami paper.

"I never did like snakes anyway." She murmured to herself. Yet, she noticed with much chagrin, that she was at a great disadvantage –her skill-set needed room. She was in a cramped hallway in the base, and there was no way she was about to let the entire organization detonate and explode into smithereens because Orochimaru was pissy that his Haruno escaped. But at least, disadvantage be damned, Sakura was free.

Her heir was first and foremost. Pein would understand if it came down to it.

Before she could even register what was going on, Orochimaru appeared before her and sent a powerful kick to her abdomen, strong enough to break the wall behind her and have her tumbling back.

"You're going to pay." He was on her yet again, this time a blade protruding from his mouth. His snakes wrapped around her ankles and wrists, leaving her immobilized, as he quickly lunged towards her.

In a panic, Konan's eyes rapidly turned gold for a fraction of a second, and the next thing Orochimaru knew, a tree erupted from the ground and pushed Orochimaru back.

And although it hurt like hell, he had seen enough to leave him feeling as if there was hope. He stood up, groggily almost, but then grinned viciously in Konan's direction. "Who would have thought that I'd have one hiding under my very nose this whole time" He grinned maliciously, his snake-like tongue swirling around in a playful manner.

Konan did not respond, removing a few kunai from her holster, ready for Orochimaru to lunge again.

But before he could even get close to her with said lunge, just mere feet away from Konan, one of Pein's Six Paths appeared before them and Orochimaru was completely immobilized by a choke hold. "How foolish are you to attack Konan under my very own base?" it sneered. And before either Konan or Orochimaru could see, he was being hurled left and right, up and down and any and every direction in between, no doubt breaking bone after bone after bone as Pein continued his onslaught on Orochimaru. "You'll pay for your insolence." He snarled, Orochimaru on the ground, battered, beaten and bruised.

"What's going on here? Orochimaru-senpai?"

It was but a split second that Pein looked away to stare at Tobi, but it had been enough time –more than enough. Within the next second he was already gone, leaving nothing but destruction in his wake as Tobi surveyed the chaos that had befallen the base.

What had happened?

And more importantly, _who_ _had that been running through his base?_

Pein did not say a word as he got up. "Konan, have Deidara repair this mess. And alert Kisame and Itachi that if they are to see Orochimaru while they're out, they are to kill him." And then he vanished.

"But... I liked Orochimaru-senpai..."

* * *

"Itachi..." Kisame didn't exactly know how to bring this up as they casually walked alongside the open road. "Orochimaru's prisoner..."

Although Itachi did not respond, he glanced at Kisame for a fraction of a second to let him know that he was listening, which Kisame took as a good sign to continue. "She's a Haruno..." Kisame stated, noticing how Itachi seemed unaffected by this news.

"And?" he questioned, asking Kisame to get to his point.

"Well... I mean... Isn't that kind of freaky to you?" He didn't quite know what he was saying or where he was going with it, but he just knew that he had to make a point out of it. The fact of the matter was, there was currently a Sakura Haruno with pink hair being imprisoned in their base, and she looked identical to that of the Sakura they had once known eleven years ago, except that that Sakura was supposedly dead and should technically be about 24 or 25 now.

That kunoichi, however old she was, was definitely not 25.

"Hn" Itachi stated, and Kisame got the vibe that Itachi didn't particularly want to talk about it, so he just decided to shut up with one final sigh.

But of course Itachi didn't want to talk about it. All it would be doing would be opening up old wounds.

And besides, Itachi had seen it too; he had seen the kunoichi on the floor, wrapped up in snakes, and he had seen her fight off Orochimaru, and he had definitely seen that very same, identical girl enact a Haruno Clan Ritual exactly eleven years ago.

And with that thought in mind, he came to a sudden realization

_That was Sakura Haruno_

_His Sakura Haruno. The one he had housed, trained and sparred with and supposedly killed, and had supposedly gone missing afterwards._

_But now the real question, _

_How was that even possible?_

**End of Chapter**

**Oooooh, and there it is ^.^ Next chapter will definitely be the meeting between Sakura and Itachi, i'll leave that as a spoiler ^.^**

**And as a side-note, the fight between Kisame, Itachi, Naruto, Kakashi, etc. had been one of Sakura's "premonitions" in Sakura's New Past, right around her mission in Suna, just in case you guys have forgotten ^-^ Her Flower Eye is still pretty much a mystery up until this point, but not to worry, its true origins and depths will be revealed in the future ^.^**

**Also, _flacaurmama_ ****had a question pertaining to the Haruno family tree, so here is my small description on it.**

**Ayame Haruno (head of Clan) and husband (never named). Sister to Tsubaki Haruno (not named until now) and husband (also never named)**

**Ayame Haruno birthed Marika and Sakura. Tsubaki Haruno birthed Hiroto and Himawari. As such, they are first cousins.**

**Daichi and Sayuri are both close cousins to each other & the other Harunos, their birth parents never specified. **

**So there it is! Hope this answers your question! If it doesn't, drop a pm or a review and I'll be happy to clear any misunderstandings up! :)**

**More reviews makes it more likely for me to update sooner ^-^**

**Questions? Comments? Critiques? Suggestions? Leave them all here!**

**Any and all feedback is much appreciated!**

**-MarzSpy**


	5. Meeting

**Here it is guys ^_^ The long-awaited next chapter! A little Itachi, a little Sakura, and a whole lot of Sasuke mush :3 This is updated early because I'm going on a trip and won't be able to touch this much for a few weeks, and I didn't want to make you guys wait so long!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form**

**Chapter 5: Meeting**

After running for about thirty straight minutes, Sakura could finally ease up on her speed, positive that she had put enough distance between herself and the Akatsuki base, as well as knowing that there was absolutely nobody following her, no thanks to Konan and her intervention.

The sun had set long ago, Sakura was sure, because by the time she had managed to escape the god forsaken Akatsuki base, it had already been dark. She didn't know what time it was, but after the adrenaline finally gave out, she couldn't help but notice how physically and mentally exhausted she was -but how could she not be after everything that had happened to her in the past 48 hours?

She needed to find a hotel, preferably one where she could also eat at and not have any disturbances, she decided with much determination, pumping some chakra into her feet as she quickened her speed. Lucky for her Orochimaru hadn't been smart enough to completely drain her of her chakra, and settled with just blocking it -her chakra control was so perfect, she could access even just the tiniest amount that the poison failed to entirely block. But nevermind that; she needed a hotel.

Which, as luck would have it, had only been about another thirty minute run from her current location, wherever the hell that happened to be. All she knew was the heading eastward would find her somewhere in the Fire Country, hopefully, and then she'd be able to make her move from there. After all, navigating in the Fire Country was bound to be a lot safer than wherever the hell she had just been.

Kami she loved the Fire Country; everything just seemed so much more luxurious and easily accessible here, she decided, upon seeing the hotel from the distance. And so she entered the aforementioned hotel, and it wasn't until it was time to pay that Sakura realized that she was flat out broke.

"Any way you could put it on the Godaime's tab?" Sakura tried to laugh it off, but failed miserably, feeling like she was definitely at the bottom of the pit of despair. Before the clerk working the front could apologize and decline her suggestion, somehow, with whatever love and affection the Gods had left for her, there was an answer to her prayer.

"Always making everybody worry, Sakura-hime."

Sakura turned around instantly, as alert as ever, her hand reaching down to the kunai holster that was no longer there (no thanks to Orochimaru), but upon staring at the figure, having instant relief wash over her. "Shisui!" Sakura ran to him, never having been so happy to see him in all of her years of living.

"Everybody was worried sick for you Sakura." He whispered as she embraced him, low enough so only the two of them could hear. "You even had me searching for you."

"I know, I'm so sorry, I'll never do it again I promise... but please, _please, _pay for this tab, first and foremost. I'm begging you..." She begged, pulling back and staring at Shisui with desperate eyes.

Shisui laughed at Sakura's antics. "Hai, Hai."

Twenty minutes later, Sakura found herself placed in front of a table, a couple boxes and trays of food placed before her in what seemed like a luxurious buffet to her. And after having promptly shoved some food down her throat, feeling like she could finally breath again, Sakura began talking as Shisui stared at her expectantly, a smile gracing his face.

"Where's Sasuke-kun?" Sakura began in between bites of the noodles Shisui had ordered for her.

"Well, I do believe that until just hours ago he was here, alongside Marika, Naruto, Kakashi, etc. etc. I don't particularly know all the names of your teammates... one of them had a big dog though."

Sakura nearly chocked on her food. "What?" she questioned, trying to drink some water to ease its contents down.

"They came out here looking for you." Shisui explained. "Albeit, they got a little more than they bargained for with a confrontation with Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi, so they had to retreat when Naruto took a smidge too much damage." He explained.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Sakura shook her head, momentarily putting down her take-out. "Naruto came to look for me?" she questioned.

"Umm... yes." Shisui confirmed with a small nod.

"And Tsunade allowed this?" she raised a delicate eyebrow. Naruto had been under intense lockdown for the past year, so why would she allow him to just up and leave?

"Well, not exactly..." he gave her a hesitant chuckle.

"Oh, so the baka left the village when Tsunade and Kakashi weren't looking, then?" Sakura surmised with a roll of her eyes.

"That sounds about right." Shisui nodded. "Mind you, this is just me, relaying to you everything that either Marika or Sasuke told me." he added, pretty much saying there was room for error in everything he was saying and to cut Naruto some slack when she did see him.

"No, no, that certainly sounds like something Naruto would do." Sakura shook her head in dismay, picking up the food once more and continuing to devour it. "But is he okay? That baka shouldn't even have come here. That was way too stupid, even for him. I swear, does that guy think?" Sakura proclaimed, just about ready to go racing off to Konoha just for the sole purpose of healing Naruto, and then promptly beating him senseless for being such an idiot.

"Oh, I'm sure you can answer that question better than I can." Shisui shrugged, a grin on his features.

And it was true –she could. Naruto, although probably pretty badly injured, would definitely be okay, if not because of the Kyuubi's regenerative abilities, than because of Tsunade's capable hands. And why had he been such an idiot? Had he even thought anything through? He probably did, although his logic and thought process was probably different than anyone else's. Because Naruto had gone on a rampage once he found out, just because he cared for her so much, and he didn't care if he had to put his life on the line to save her. Just thinking those thoughts gave her those stupid warm and fuzzy feelings, and she was reminded of just how much she desperately missed Naruto –and loved him to bits, of course. "Oh Naruto, what am I going to do with you..." she sighed, but nonetheless, she was happy. Happy that not just Naruto, but all of her friends and family, had risked their behinds just to try and get her back.

"I came after Marika informed me where you guys were headed, just in case you needed back up, if you were wondering how I got here. By the time I got here, I had Sasuke and Marika explain to me what happened, and I decided to stick around to see if I could perhaps get a closer look on where exactly the Akatsuki base may be, and see how hard it would be to possibly get in and out undetected. But fortunately for me, you drop right on my lap as soon as I'm about to take off." Shisui laughed. "I sure must have great luck." (At this comment, Sakura scoffed, but decided not to comment -his luck must be much better than hers, she was sure).

Nevertheless, she was sure this was an intervention of Fate, and she kindly thanked Matsuro-sama for it.

"But anyway, now that I know you're safe and sound, I think it best I be on my way. Wouldn't want anyone seeing me and asking questions, after all. The room's prepaid for tomorrow, so you can stay here if you want. I'll send word to Sasuke that you're safe and have him meet you at a halfway point, if you want." Shisui offered.

Sakura sighed. "If you tell him I'm here with you I have no other option _but_ to meet them halfway -there's no "if you want" about it. They're probably all going nuts right now." Sakura refuted, rolling her eyes slightly. "Just tell them I'm safe and to designate a halfway point for tomorrow morning, please."

"Hai, Sakura-hime." He winked, beginning to write the letter. Once done, he rolled it up and began walking towards the window sill, where, lo and behold, sat a potted plant with a jasmine bud on it, summoned by Marika for communication purposes. "You'll receive Marika's response through this." he merely commented, watching as the jasmine bud wrapped its stems around the letter before disappearing.

"Sounds good." Sakura spoke, noodles in her mouth and all. Screw manners; she hadn't eaten in what felt like ages.

"Alright Sakura, until next time I suppose." He approached Sakura and gave her a quick hug as she thanked him repeatedly for saving her from having to sleep in an alleyway with no food or warmth, and then he was quickly on his way, whistling a merry tune as he began walking towards the entrance of the hotel.

Rounding a corner of the building, ready to make his way downstairs, he bumped into someone, having been too distracted to pay much attention to the path before him -but you couldn't even blame him, he thought; he couldn't even sense the man to begin with. He swore, it was so hard to sense civilians, for their chakra pathways were quite literally nonexistent. "Oh, sorr –whoa you're tall." He whistled, staring up at the seven foot tall man. "I have no clue how I missed you, sorry about that." he apologized once more.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." The aforementioned seven-foot tall giant sighed, walking past Shisui, going down the hall said Uchiha had just come from, and going up the stairs to the third floor of the hotel room.

"Good night to you too." Shisui said almost sarcastically as he continued his walk outside, noticing how rude the giant had been, but decided to dismiss it, not particularly caring.

Said giant, upon his arrival to the third floor, passed about three doors before opening the next one on his left with a simple key, and upon closing the door behind him, did some handsigns. What had previously been smooth tanned skin and dark hair suddenly took a bluish-gray color as he shouted a quick "Itachi, I'm back. I have take-out."

"Hn"

* * *

Sakura, although exhausted to the bone, got up bright and early the next day, all thoughts about yesterday put behind her, just wanting to make it to her halfway point, the location of which she had found out the night before thanks to the reply brought by the jasmine bud that had gone a little along these lines, if you will:

_Sakura you gave us the biggest scare in the world! Right after Himawari expressly told you to be careful! _

The neat hand writing had been easily identifiable as Marika's, but then it got really sloppy, a scripture that could only be Naruto's, every letter capitalized to emphasize that Naruto was extremely excited, and Sakura could _swear_ that she could read his overly-obnoxious voice screaming in her ear to the point where she nearly grew deaf just reading it, if it were possible.

_SAKURA-CHAN! STAY RIGHT THERE. DON'T MOVE. I'LL BE THERE IN A SEC, DATTEBAYO!_

And, once more, it changed, this hand writing much neater than Naruto's.

_Ignore the dobe. I'll explain to him it's better if you get as far away from the Akatsuki as possible. I'll describe our halfway point below._

And then the said letter off to explain the location as, who she had presumed to be Sasuke, promised. Upon exiting the bathroom, Sakura gave herself some time to look over the directions once more, before tucking in the scroll in one of her skirt pockets, before heading out the door of her hotel room.

_'I just want to be home'_, Sakura thought, her footsteps carrying her towards the entrance, unconsciously speeding up at the thought of having Naruto, Sasuke-kun, and Kakashi-sensei alongside her, and with that thought in mind, Sakura began walking down the hallway. But she found, as she was rounding the corner to the stairs, that somebody was making their way up the very same flight of stairs. This aforementioned somebody, clearly a male, looked up and their eyes locked, but before she could even get a good look at the man, Sakura found herself cornered, pushed up against the wall with Sharingan eyes blazing down at her, a hand covering her mouth, denying her the right to scream if she so chose to, which she found she most definitely wanted to do.

Sakura stared in wide-eyed shock as she got a good look at those Sharingan eyes, eyes she had familiarized herself with ages ago. Because these were definitely not the Sharingan eyes of her Sasuke-kun, and she knew Shisui didn't have the Sharingan any longer, and it was enough to send her blood cold in an instant.

'_Itachi'_

Their eyes met, for several seconds in fact, and Sakura didn't know whether or not she should feel relieved that he hadn't killed her yet –hadn't put her in the Tsukiyomi and tortured her yet. Because just by the look in his eyes, she could already tell that he knew who she was, _knew she was Sakura, _and by the aggression in his actions she could also tell that he wanted answers. _Now_

Which he rightfully deserved, Sakura decided. But deciding he should know the truth and actually telling him this truth were two different things entirely, she also decided almost immediately after. She moved her lips, an effort to indicate to Itachi that she wished to speak, and he granted her that wish, calmly and slowly removing his hand from her mouth, but as Sakura made an effort to push him off of her, to get some breathing room because _Kami she swore she couldn't be this close to him right now_, he roughly grasped her wrists as if making it clear that she wouldn't be moving a muscle any time soon –not until he got his answers anyway. And just those actions were enough to remind Sakura that even if he was ultimately innocent of the crimes he committed in Konoha, he was still an enemy who would no doubt hurt her if she didn't comply to his wishes, somebody who had tried to kill her the second to last time he had seen her.

Her breath hitched in her throat, no longer knowing what she wanted to start off with -clearly a "Hello Itachi, it's been a while, how have you been?" was definitely not suited for the situation, and it took Itachi's painful reminder, having grasped her wrists a little too harshly, to open up her voice box again.

"...Put me under" she decided to say instead, almost an exasperated and out of breath whisper, before her breath hitched in her throat all together and she was rendered voiceless by his actions, which she knew would completely shut down her brain any second now if she didn't get some breathing room, because _Kami,_ Itachi had always been a poison to her, a toxin that always left her confused and turned her into a jumbled slab of goo on the floor.

It was but a whisper, but Itachi was so close to her it didn't even matter; she stared, fixated, straight into his Sharingan eyes as they developed into the Mangekyou, and then her world went black, her heart thumping at a million beats per minute, her entire existence being devoured by the aforementioned blackness.

* * *

She had always wondered what it was like to be placed under the Mangekyou. Oddly enough, she wasn't fearful. If Itachi was going to kill her she would have been dead by now, she supposed, and if he was going to torture her he would have also done that by now, so she knew she had nothing to worry about. At least, that was what she kept telling herself, and what she desperately wanted to believe.

She found herself in a deserted, nearly pitch-black forest, her back placed against a tree trunk as Itachi suddenly appeared before her, cornering her in a similar fashion as back in the hotel. He didn't speak, merely examining her from head to toe, almost as if confirming she was in fact the same girl, no, woman, he knew in the past. Sakura held her breath, almost too nervous to even breathe under his scrutinizing gaze. Feeling like she needed to break the silence, she began speaking, not knowing exactly where to begin but knowing that if she didn't that they would be here for the next 72 hours, or until Sakura finally decided to speak.

"Four months ago," her breath harshly hitched in her throat as Itachi's eyes quickly darted to her face as she began talking, and trying to gain some backbone, she allowed herself to look back in his eyes, almost mesmerized by the way they seemed to be the only thing that lit up the black expanse around her. It was weird, how something like two years ago (for her), she would have looked at those very same eyes with relative ease and comfort. And now, eleven years later, he was an enemy that brought fear into every inch of her being. "Four months ago," she repeated once more, trying to recollect her thoughts, "I was given an S-Class mission by Tsunade-shishou to go back to the past and stop the Uchiha Massacre; to kill you if I had to." She began, noticing how he paid close attention, but also how his face, and even his eyes, remained unchanging. "But I wouldn't come to know until months afterwards about the coup d'état that Fugaku had been planning..." she surveyed his face, looking for any sort of expression to let her know that he was still there as she continued speaking –the old Itachi that she used to know, but she could find none, and the thought made her heart clench uncomfortably.

"...I saw you" he suddenly spoke after a long silence, the first time she had heard his voice in what had been nearly two years for her and eleven years for him, and it was enough to send an involuntary shiver down her spine, "at the Clan Ritual. When you transformed to your true self."

Sakura gave a small nod, recalling that the very last time she had seen Itachi, he had said the same thing, but she had refused to elaborate on it. "Due to... ummm..." Sakura bit her tongue, knowing she couldn't speak about Matsuro. "Due to my power, as well as the power of the jutsu that sent me to the past, being restricted, my form was altered for the duration of it."

Itachi glared, knowing that, even now, there were still things that Sakura was keeping from him, and without knowing it his fists slammed into the bark between Sakura's head. Why was she always able to get him so angry with hardly any effort?

"You lied... about everything." His comment sounded hurt, the first emotion Sakura had been able to decipher from Itachi, but it was gone nearly as quickly as it had come, so fast in fact that Sakura wasn't entirely sure that she had heard it in the first place.

And then Sakura understood it: why he had avoided her ever since that day, and why he had refused to trust her or listen to her, or anything along those lines. Because to him, she had surely been nothing but a liar from the very beginning that hadn't meant, or _felt _anything from day one. "I never meant to get as close to you as I did..." Sakura began hesitantly.

_Never meant to like you,_

"But I did... and I'm sure seeing me like that must have hurt you, and I didn't mean for any of that to happen..." Sakura frowned, looking down.

Had Itachi still been capable of any emotion other than anger, he would have sneered. _Hurt? _That didn't even begin to describe the emotions he had felt at the time –he had felt betrayed, hurt, used and confused all at once.

"But," Sakura added, hesitantly at first, chewing on her bottom lip as she examined Itachi's reaction, almost as if testing the water and seeing if it were okay to continue. "I don't regret it. I don't regret any of it." She stared back up at Itachi, her passionate emerald eyes meeting his cold Sharingan orbs. "I... I gave Sasuke a new chance at a happy life... one with Mikoto and Saki in it... one in which there's a chance for you to be in it too, Itachi..." she spoke the last part extremely tentatively. "Sasuke knows... about everything now... He knows about the coup d'état and the plans of the elders... and he knows of your innocence, Itachi. And so does Tsunade-sama..."

_He doesn't hate you,_

_Konoha will accept you,_

Itachi turned around abruptly upon hearing her words, simply not caring to hear anything else that she was saying. He had come for answers, and he had gotten them -there was nothing more to be said. Because, after all, what did _she _know about anything? Things weren't that simple –he couldn't just walk back into Konoha and expect things to fall into place, and for him to pick back up right where he had left off eleven years ago. He had left everything in Konoha, for the sake of its future, and he had been prepared to leave it for good, and here she was, talking about just returning as if it were simply that easy.

"Are you done?" he spoke coldly, as if asking if she had said all she needed to, so he could break the genjutsu and they could part ways once more. He at least cared –_had cared_, enough to give her that respect.

"Itachi, please, just hear me out..." She pleaded, attempting to take a step towards him, reaching out her hand to perhaps grasp his sleeve so that he couldn't walk away from her, but found that she simply could not move from where she stood –but of course, because Itachi controlled everything in this damned place, and if he didn't want her to move, if he didn't want her to touch him, then so be it –wish granted.

He turned around suddenly, perhaps getting a little too close for comfort yet again, as he spoke. "There are bigger things at stake, Sakura. Bigger things in motion which I cannot simply turn away from."

"But Itachi, you have a chance at life again... I know you love Sasuke, and I know-"

"You don't know me." he cut her off. "You never did..." he turned around once more, a sense of finality in his voice, but Sakura, with much anger and determination, refused to let it end like that, after so many months and years of pent up anger and frustration and stress and confusion.

Sakura shook her head suddenly, needing to express the anger and hurt bubbling up inside of her at his words. "That's a lie and you know it." She hesitated and fumbled with her next words, her anger fueling her to speak. "I refuse to admit that I didn't know you, because I know, even if just for a few short months, that I liked the person I had seen in you Itachi.

_I liked you,_

"And deep down inside, I know you know that too... Even if I was lying to you... Because you were lying to me from the very beginning too, or have you forgotten?"

If Itachi were capable of it, his eyes would have widened at her outburst. He lied to her? How had _he _lied? He had never pretended to be anything other than the monster he was. He didn't hide this about himself, and she got closer to him willingly (if not forcefully, his inner self said resentfully), knowing all of this all too well.

Almost as if reading his thoughts, Sakura proclaimed boldly. "You allowed me to get close to you, despite knowing what you were bound to do... bound to become. You allowed not only me, but yourself to get hurt Itachi. So you can't blame this solely on me."

And despite how much he wanted to refute this and deny it, deep down inside, if his churning emotions were any indication of it, she was right. Because he wouldn't be here, destroying his eye-sight and depleting his chakra if she weren't important, if she hadn't affected him enough for him to go out of his way to seek her out and demand answers. She had gotten too close, yes, but he had allowed it to happen to begin with.

"...I am sorry, Itachi..." she spoke yet again, pulling Itachi out of his thoughts. "But, at the same time... I'm not..." she looked down hesitantly for the slightest of seconds, as if debating her next statement, before looking back into Itachi's blood-red eyes. "Because... even if I was lying to you... Even if I was from the future, and even if I had met you solely because of the mission that got assigned to me, I got to know a side of you not many did, Itachi, which I will never be able to forget about. And you can't fake the things we went through, and don't try and tell me you can. Don't you _dare _undermine everything we went through." Itachi didn't miss the hurt in her voice (she had always been so easy to read, even back then, he recalled), or the way her voice cracked at her very last sentence. She shook her head some more, absolutely refusing to believe Itachi's words. Because even though he had tried to kill her, and even though it hurt now, she couldn't lie to herself; she had fallen for Itachi, and his selfless, brave, and kind persona.

Before Sakura could say any more, perhaps beg or demand Itachi to say something, _anything,_ the illusion was broken and Sakura all too quickly found herself back in the real world, Itachi's body still pressed up against her own. He cared not to continue that conversation, Sakura thought with great sadness, but she had no time to reflect upon that as she felt Itachi shift.

He knelt down, and she could feel his lips on her ear as he spoke. "Go home and take your Jinchuurki far from Konoha." And then he released his grip on her wrists and began walking away, not even looking back.

Sakura turned to stare at his retreating figure, and hearing more footsteps heading downstairs, presumably that of Kisame's, she decided to bail before she had any more explaining to do.

And although he hid it well, as he watched her retreating figure, his heart clenched uncomfortably as old memories and emotions which he had suppressed for several years now, slowly but surely, began to resurface.

_Don't you dare undermine everything we went through_

Her words echoed in his head and reverberated in his heart.

* * *

"Tch. She should be here by now." Sasuke said impatiently, looking around.

"Give her a few more minutes Sasuke." Kakashi said, refusing to take his eyes off of the Icha Icha Paradise book he was reading, although he knew this to be Sasuke just being his usual worry-wart self when it came to Sakura –but this he could not blame, for even now there was the chance that she would get captured once more. Frankly, as any of the members of Team 7 saw it, Sakura was never safe unless she was with them, tightly tucked and squeezed in between the members of Team 7, Sai included, regardless of her skill and her ability to protect herself, but this was just them being their over-protective selves.

Naruto, who had long since become impatient, even before the supposed time of arrival, began shouting from atop the highest tree in the area. "I think I see her!" And so he promptly shot down from the tree and began running over to her. "SAKURA-CHAN~~!"

But seconds later, Sasuke watched with much amusement, as he was hurled back with so much force that he literally knocked over the tree he had just been mounted on. "NARUTO NO BAKA!" Oh yeah, Sakura was _definitely_ here alright. "How many times do we have to go over this? Bad things happen when you step out of the village." She didn't even wait as she approached the clearing, picking Naruto up by the collar as she reprimanded him for being so careless (although currently, she probably had absolutely no right to talk).

"But Sakura-chan, I was just worried for you!" he complained, wishing that for once, Sakura could just thank him for his courage and bravery, hell, maybe even a kiss or two-

"Get real Naruto." She scoffed, tossing him aside (quite literally), and beginning to walk away, Sasuke and Kakashi already by her side, Naruto temporarily dazed as he realized he had said that out loud (he swore it was Sakura's fault for hitting him too hard anyway -his brain was permanently damaged).

"Your lack of control over your brain is not my fault." Sakura retorted, sending him a glare as he bashfully turned the other way, deciding to just stop thinking all together before his thoughts got him in trouble.

"You're not hurt, are you?" Sasuke inquired, opting to ignore Naruto's antics and the characteristic childish tears of his, instead showing his concern over Sakura. He swore if she were in pain he'd personally track down that snake bastard and teach him not to mess with his family -because yes, he had to admit it, Sakura was family.

Sakura shook her head. "It's not the first time I've dealt with Orochimaru. Luckily for me, he made his fatal mistake by bringing me to Akatsuki." Before either Sasuke or Kakashi could inquire on what exactly she meant, she silenced them. "I'll explain once we arrive at Konoha; I don't want to say it more than once."

"Hai"

"Hn"

And so they turned to leave, casually walking at a leisure pace towards Konoha. "Hurry up now Naruto, don't diddle daddle." Kakashi commented with a crease of his one visible eye, almost as if mocking Naruto, who had been crawling towards them, not having been fully healed from his battle with Kisame and Itachi before he promptly fled from the hospital in order to save "his" Sakura-chan, and having said Sakura-chan promptly pummel him to the ground seconds upon seeing her.

"H-Hai..." he tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill. All he had wanted was for Sakura to be grateful to him...

_'Life's not fair...' _

* * *

"Sakura you don't even know how big of a panic you had us all in." Tsunade reprimanded. All the occupants in the room, the Harunos' plus Team 7, all nodded simultaneously at Tsunade's statement.

"Gomen" she apologized giving them all a meek smile, "It's not like I willingly let myself be captured by them or delivered myself to their front door." She sent Naruto another look that had him looking down in embarrassment.

Tsunade sighed, shaking her head in dismay. All her shinobi were idiots, she was sure of it. She'd die just worrying about them, no doubt. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you again to be more careful, at least." She sighed yet again.

Sakura gave a quick nod in acknowledgement, commenting quickly "Better he chase after me than get his hands on Sasuke, at least."

"Better than that would be if I didn't have to fear that snake-bastard having it in with some of my best shinobi in the making at all; I'm sure if I send you to the past once more you'd come back to find him pinning after Naruto next." Sakura dismissed her retort, and allowed Tsunade to move on and ask the question she was sure was next. "How did you escape?"

From the corner of the room, the Harunos' watched on in quiet curiosity. "Well," Sakura began, "there might, sort of, kind of be a Haruno in Akatsuki... who sort of, kind of set me free and engaged in battle with Orochimaru...?"

Tsunade allowed her head to thump on her newly bought desk. "Kami, there's more of you? I can barely handle the likes of you." she shook her head in disapproval. "I swear sometimes I feel like you're all more trouble than you're worth."

From next to her, Sasuke smirked –for once, it was Sakura and not him or Naruto (because usually they were being reprimanded for fighting or being reckless), who was being scolded for her carelessness. Which, he had to admit, was nice.

"Oh yeah, and one more thing... I may have, sort of kind of, ran into Itachi on my way here." The room, which had been left in relative ease, suddenly tensed up once again at the mention. "For starters, I'm alive, which we should take as a good sign." Sakura stated, trying to lighten the sudden serious mood that had befallen the room. "But he also told me to take Naruto away from Konoha as soon as possible."

All eyes fell on Naruto this time as Tsunade began to think over this news. "Can he really be trusted?" Marika questioned, despite the look Sasuke gave her (this was his innocent aniki, of course he could be trusted).

"I'd rather not risk finding out why he would want Naruto out of the village..." Sakura said hesitantly. "He didn't seem to bare any ill-will towards either me or Konoha."

Tsunade sighed. "Well, I guess now is as good a time as ever then. I can't possibly see Itachi sabotaging us for the time being, if everything you have told me so far is true." She rummaged through her desk and pulled out a scroll. "I have a letter from the Kazekage, Gaara no Subaku explicitly asking for your presence, Sakura."

"Mine?" she questioned in confusion, eyes switching from Naruto to Tsunade in the blink of an eye. Last she knew, the only interaction she had had with Gaara in this timeline was that of the Chunin Exam's, and even then it hadn't been enough of an interaction for him to suddenly call for her.

"Hai" Tsunade confirmed, "But I was planning on making you the temporary ambassador to Suna anyway, so this works out. I'd allow you a day's time to rest, but if Itachi is actually trying to warn us of something, perhaps you should take off before we have time to find out what it is." Tsunade explained.

Sakura nodded in confirmation. "I'm assuming this is tasked upon Team 7, then?" she questioned, pretty much asking if Sasuke and Kakashi would also be accompanying them.

Tsunade gave a small nod. "Now I know you guys aren't exactly experts at diplomacy, but you've got enough common sense to know how to act." Tsunade began, looking at all of them in the eye, until her gaze fixated upon Naruto. "Naruto, your sole job here is to shut up and not screw anything up." This quickly made Naruto frown in defiance, but Tsunade moved on before he could even try to go against her. "Fortunately for you, Shikamaru has already gone over the alliance plans and rough drafts, so all you three have to do is memorize it and speak in front of the Kazekage and the Elders and whoever else they deem important enough to attend the meetings." Tsunade began, throwing each of the members of Team 7 –minus Naruto, a file containing the information. "Leave whenever you want, but remember, although Gaara seems willing for an alliance, we still mustn't forget that we also need to be liked by the Elders; and be careful." Tsunade dismissed them fairly quickly.

With a slight bow, they all exited Tsunade's office, the Harunos' included, as they walked out of the Hokage tower. "What time shall we leave?" Sakura asked, mainly asking Kakashi, for he was still technically the leader of the team.

"Let's try and leave by two." Kakashi stated.

"Sounds good!" Naruto exclaimed "Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme, wanna get some ramen?"

"I'll pass Naruto, I'd like to rest a bit before we leave." Sakura shook her head.

"I've got things to do." Sasuke merely responded.

With a defeated sigh, Naruto frowned. "You guys are no fun." Although, truthfully speaking, Sakura was probably fairly exhausted and should rest up (technically so should he but a few life threatening injuries never stopped him). So he directed his statement towards the Harunos', knowing Kakashi would down right refuse him if he asked anyway. "What about you guys? Down for some ramen?"

"I'll go." Himawari offered with a small smile, never one to let someone down. "How about you Hiroto-nii?"

"I guess I can squeeze you guys in."

And so little by little, the group split, Marika and Kakashi going to their separate apartments, Sayuri going to her lessons with Ibiki, and Daichi returning home to rest.

By the time Sakura walked into the compound, it was just her and Sasuke, a small sticky note having been left on the fridge, addressing the fact that Mikoto and Saki were nowhere to be seen, apparently off grocery shopping.

"Sakura" Sasuke spoke as they made their way down the hallway. "Can I ask you something?"

Sakura looked back, confused –Sasuke never _asked _to ask a question –he sort of just did. Like he had stated just days prior, he _hated _beating around the bush, so why was he doing it now? She made her way into her bedroom, immediately beginning to pack for the journey that lay ahead, deciding that she didn't want to do it later.

"What's up?" she questioned, sitting down on her bed as she got some clothing, noticing how Sasuke remained by the door, staring at her through the mirror in her room.

"Do you..." He paused, hesitant, and Sakura couldn't help but raise her eyebrow, almost as if saying _Spit it out already, Sasuke-kun, _and so Sasuke spoke, looking away as if he wouldn't like the answer, almost. "Do you like Itachi-nii?" The words left her stunned, glued to the spot she was at, her fingers frozen mid-fold. "Let me rephrase myself... Did you love him, Sakura?"

The question she had been asking herself nearly the entire time she was in the past, as well as a good portion of her time in the indefinite and non-existent dimension of Matsuro's, finally arose. But it still found took her forever to answer this, she noticed begrudgingly. "...No..." she finally spoke after what could have been a good minute, her hands falling to her lap, the article of clothing long forgotten on her bed, as she began to mewl over her words, turning her head to face him. "But _Kami_, I cared for him more than I should have allowed myself to, Sasuke-kun..." she gave a small, bittersweet smile. "I don't know if it was because watching him was so much like watching you, in my timeline... or perhaps just that I have the tendency to care too much when I see good people destroying themselves... But I couldn't help but care for him, more and more, with each and every passing day." she reminisced upon Itachi's actions. "He saved me once, you know... from Orochimaru, back when I got captured then. That's how I knew that deep down inside Itachi was a good person; that he cared. It almost made me think that he could perhaps care about me in the future too, but..."

_But then he went and "killed" her, and ruined all possibilities of that, anyhow_

Her heart clenched uncomfortably at the thought –as much as she wanted to deny it, it still hurt, just thinking about what Itachi had done, _what he tried to do, _and he would have very well succeeded in doing too, if not for Kikyou's intervention.

Did she love him? She couldn't answer it truthfully, she knew, and she knew that Sasuke knew, just by the look that he was giving her and the way she had answered extremely unconvincingly, at that. Because although she said no, her mind was still racing through everything that they had gone through and part of her so _desperately_ wanted to cling to the idea that he had reciprocated those feelings, even if only for a little while.

Which, although Sakura would surely deny it, Sasuke had a hunch that Itachi did –and probably still does now.

Because, even though he had tried to suppress and block and erase most of the memories he had from his childhood, there were few interactions he could remember between Sakura-neechan and his aniki, and if there was one thing he had ever noticed, it was that Itachi seemed to particularly be in an irritated mood whenever he was around Sakura, and an even more aggravated mood when he wasn't. And being completely serious here, Itachi would not have acted so openly about his liking to Sakura if it weren't something he would be feeling ten, twenty, or thirty years down the line. He had genuinely fallen for Sakura, and she had been the only person he had ever had feelings for –this was saying something.

It was a long while that Sakura and Sasuke sat in silence, Sasuke processing all his thoughts as Sakura waited patiently, wondering why exactly it was that Sasuke was bringing this up -why he was asking such a privy question, especially. Sasuke never particularly cared about somebody's relationship status or their feelings when it came to a certain somebody -although she supposed that it being Itachi, his own flesh and blood that they were talking about, made it a little more understandable.

And after a while, Sasuke parted his lips, inhaling deeply before he spoke. "...Okaa-san said that Itachi would always stand by my side... And it would be wrong for me to not do the same."

Sakura was at first confused by his seemingly random statement, and waited patiently for Sasuke to elaborate.

"Itachi-nii," Sakura did not miss the way Sasuke openly made an effort (although he said it rather hesitantly) to bring back the endearment he used so long ago. "...He needs you, Sakura." Just those words, said so bluntly, and by Sasuke no less, were enough to send a sharp pang of electricity through Sakura as he continued speaking. "You saved me from my darkness Sakura... That's something I will never be able to repay you for." He admitted truthfully. "But you in turn allowed Itachi-nii to see his own light, even if just for a short while..." Sakura could see it hurt Sasuke just to say all this, obviously still conflicted when it came to Itachi, although one thought did strike Sakura –_Sasuke had faith. _At least, he was trying, so desperately she was sure, to hold on to the belief that Itachi was innocent, and that Itachi cared, and that Itachi _would _come back. And that was more than she had hoped for at this point. And yet, Sasuke continued to speak. "I believe... No, I _know_ that you can make him see that light again." Her heart clenched once more.

"Sasuke-kun... Itachi... he is-" but Sasuke cut her off before she could finish.

"You may think he is, Sakura... but he's not too far gone to save... He needs _you_ to realize this" he reaffirmed, stealing the words from her mouth. "So please..." he sounded so, _so_ desperate as he spoke and it made Sakura tear up as she saw and felt his strong emotions, tears welling up in his own eyes. "Don't give up on him... _Onegai."_

_Please bring Itachi back to us..._

And for emphasis, Sasuke was now before her, sitting alongside her and bringing her into a hug, tears staining his cheeks and subsequently the crook of her neck. Because all this time, despite the fact that he had tried so desperately to hate his aniki for all the pain he had caused him and his mother to go through, the teachings of Sakura-oneechan had always been there, _Try to keep an open mind Sasuke-kun, because do you think that the Itachi-nii that you know and love would do that? _It had been hard –but Sakura-oneechan was too big of an influence in his life for him to _not _listen to her. And now the truth was finally revealed to him, by the very same Sakura-oneechan that he had practically idolized growing up, and he was finally given the chance to actually see Itachi for who he was –an innocent martyr. And knowing this, he simply could not turn his back on Itachi –His Itachi-nii, whose turn it now was to be saved. But this was not something Sasuke alone could do. Hell, Sasuke wasn't even entirely sure that he could do it at all. But if there was one thing he was sure of, it was that Sakura could. Because Sakura had never ever let him down before, _not once_, and he knew she wasn't about to start now.

"S-Sasuke-kun..." She wasn't sure what it was that she wanted to say as tears began falling from her own eyes.

"Please save him Sakura." He begged, repeating this mantra yet again, this time but a whisper, enveloping his arms around her a little harder.

And, yet again, Sakura was forced to come to the realization that Itachi had become her burden, ever since she had accepted that damned mission five months ago. Even though her official mission was over, her real mission had just begun. "I'll bring him back, Sasuke-kun. I promise." And she allowed herself to be cried on, because her Sasuke-kun was nothing but a child when it came to such matters, and he would always be her little Sasuke-chan from now on, someone who she needed to protect.

But even though she told him this, and even though her heart desperately wanted it to be so, her mind betrayed her. Because her brain, the only rational part of her, told her that it would be impossible –that it was impossible, just by the way Itachi had spoken to her earlier that day, just by the way he had _looked _at her, even.

But she didn't have the courage to tell Sasuke this, and she highly doubted she ever would. It wouldn't matter anyway. Just because she didn't believe it didn't mean she wasn't going to try. This, unfortunately, was not something her heart would let her accept without a fight, even if she desperately wanted to just give up.

Sakura wasn't sure how long they had stayed like that, but by the time they heard Saki and Mikoto return from their grocery shopping, Sasuke withdrew himself from Sakura's arms, informing her that he was going to go shower, although Sakura knew this to be an excuse so that Mikoto and Saki didn't see his tear-stained eyes.

* * *

"It's such a shame that you're being sent out just as quickly as we get you back Sakura." Mikoto frowned in disapproval.

"The duty of a shinobi calls Mikoto." Sakura shrugged. "But you can rest at ease, I'll have Naruto, Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei there for me this time around." She offered words of comfort to Mikoto.

"Well, at least eat up so you can begin your journey on a full stomach. I made your favorite."

Sakura grinned –Mikoto truly was the best.

Before she could even begin to thank Mikoto for her delicious cooking, Naruto barged in through the door. "Man I'm starving!"

"Naruto you just ate ramen with Himawari-chan and Hiroto." Sakura glared.

"That was like two hours ago Sakura-chan." He dismissed her with a wave of a hand as he took his shoes off, hurriedly making his way to the dinner table, where he placed himself next to Sakura. "What's for lunch Mikoto-kaa?"

Sasuke appeared through the hallway freshly bathed just in time to hear Naruto's comment. "Mooch." He merely commented, sitting himself around the dining table, in between Naruto and Mikoto, knowing that his younger sister would throw a fit if she didn't get to sit next to her Sakura-oneesama.

"I have as much of a right to Mikoto's delicious cooking as anybody else in this house!" Naruto proclaimed loudly.

Although Sakura laughed, she refused to comment on it; it didn't matter, because Mikoto always cooked for an army anyway. After all, she never knew who was bound to show up to her dinner table. On occasions it'd be the entire Haruno bunch, sometimes Kakashi would drop by as well for a free lunch from time to time, and she'd even have Ino, TenTen, and Hinata swing by every now and then. And, well, Mikoto hated to disappoint those who came by, so she always made sure she was well prepared.

"Saki's currently pestering Kakashi-san for some Mangekyou training once he gets back from your mission, but I'm sure she'll be here in no time." Mikoto explained with a small smile.

And just as she had said, after a few short minutes, Saki showed up, a triumphant smile on her face, Kakashi following shortly behind her. "Tadaima!" Saki greeted loudly, pleased to find the seat alongside Sakura empty.

Kakashi stepped in with a small wave and his typical greeting. "Yo!"

"You just got bribed with Mikoto's cooking, didn't you Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura raised a delicate eyebrow.

"...I mean, I wouldn't necessarily say _bribed, _but yes, essentially." Kakashi gave a curt nod.

All minus Sasuke, who opted to smirk, laughed. "I'll go get an extra seat!" Mikoto exclaimed, running off and returning a minute later with a spare chair.

And so, Team 7, Mikoto and Saki enjoyed a pleasant lunch, up until the clock struck two and it was finally time to start their mission to Suna.

* * *

"We have orders to kill Orochimaru if we see him."

Itachi glanced at Kisame, inquiring on when and why this came to be.

"Apparently he attacked Konan after his prisoner escaped." Kisame explained, reading the scroll that had been given to him just moments prior by a White Zetsu clone.

"Hn"

"I wonder if she's been set free then." Kisame hummed out in curiosity. "She was awful young."

Itachi could tell that Kisame was just trying to get him to talk about the Haruno –about the Sakura Haruno they knew eleven years ago, so he decided to just ignore Kisame, primarily because he didn't have anything to say on the matter.

After all, the Sakura Haruno that had been held prisoner by Orochimaru had indeed escaped, and he had actually conversed with her just hours ago, not that Kisame needed to know anything. No, it wasn't that he didn't trust Kisame, it was just that, simply put, it wouldn't change anything, and he didn't want Kisame getting involved and meddling in things that he wanted to just be left alone. Besides, he reasoned, Sakura's time-travelling was her own business and not his, so it wasn't fitting for him to speak about it. If she had wanted him to know, she would have told him, instead of bailing out before Kisame reached the second floor building and spotted her.

Instead, Itachi decided to change topics. "Let's avoid main roads." Itachi opted to reach Konoha via side routes and forest entries.

"We should be fine." Kisame raised an eyebrow in question.

"Konoha-nin will be nearby if they are still searching for the pink-haired kunoichi." Itachi easily lied, not that Kisame had any clue of it.

Kisame shrugged, seeing the logic in Itachi's words. They didn't need news getting back to Konoha that they were currently messing around in the Fire Country, for there was only ever one reason to be there, and they didn't need him suddenly under high surveillance by the time they approached him.

So with that thought in mind, he shut up, knowing he wasn't going to get anything out of Itachi about the Haruno.

* * *

"Alright, we'll set up camp here." Kakashi exclaimed. The sun had set long ago, and Kakashi had wanted to make it at least half of the way to Suna so they could be there by the time the afternoon rolled around, so they wouldn't have to be running under the extreme heat of the Wind Country.

"I'll take first watch." Sasuke offered quietly, knowing that it was the best one to take –best to stay awake while you're still up than be rudely woken up in the middle of deep sleep.

"I'll take whatever you guys don't want." Sakura offered, but Kakashi easily shook his head.

"You've had a rough past couple of days, why don't you rest tonight Sakura?" he suggested.

Although she desperately wanted to say yes and hit the hay, Sakura refused to be given any special treatment. As such, she shook her head stubbornly "I'm fine Kakashi-sensei."

There was some debate, but eventually Sakura got her way, her team assigning her to stand watch after Sasuke, which would leave her awake during the heart of the night.

Which in all honesty, she didn't mind. The stars had a way of soothing her anyway, and the calm silence around her team (for once), gave her a feeling of quiet content. It wasn't often that she felt at peace with so much silence around her, but also having her teammates around her as well, after all.

Before she knew it, Sakura found her thoughts drifting back to Itachi –where was he now? On his way to Konoha? Would they perhaps run into them? And if so, what would happen?

As Sakura pondered this, from the shadows, she heard a rustling in a nearby tree. Without much hesitation, her eyes turned a golden shade, but she noticed with slight confusion, that what she had thought would have most certainly been an intruder was only a crow –yet not an ordinary crow, as Sakura could, with her Flower Eye activated, see the chakra flowing within it.

'_Itachi's crow.' _Sakura told herself, noticing how the crow was keeping a close eye on their current area. How long had it been following them? Sakura wasn't sure; Itachi's summonings always did find a way to remain hidden if that is what they wanted, and with this thought, Sakura realized that the crow had perhaps made its noise to alert Sakura of its current location –to alert her that Itachi was keeping a close eye on them.

A sudden lurking fear appeared from deep within Sakura, wondering if Itachi had purposely tricked her to lure Naruto out of Konoha, where he was presumably as safe as he would ever get, and the thought was scary enough for her to shift uncomfortably in her sleeping bag, her eyes darting towards Naruto's sleeping figure.

The summoning must have noticed this uneasiness, soon afterwards flying from the tree into the clearing, perching itself on a nearby log, a few feet away from Sakura. Its obsidian eyes stared directly at Sakura's golden ones, and curiously, Sakura wondered what it was that the crow was trying to relay to her.

Perhaps, that it was a friend? She sure hoped so, not just for Naruto's sake, but for the sake of her belief in Itachi –she hadn't even questioned him when he told her to take Naruto away from Konoha, believing that even if he felt betrayed by her, that he was still, deep down, an ally to Konoha. So if this had all been a trick, if Itachi was using Sakura's own hesitancy and her own foolish feelings against her, well... Not only would it leave Sakura devastated, but it would leave her with the reality that Itachi was definitely too far gone to save, contrary to what Sasuke had been trying to tell her earlier that day.

From a few feet beside her, she felt Kakashi begin to stir slightly, and the crow, also noticing this, gave Sakura one last look before it flew off and perched itself back on the tree it had originally been on, and Sakura noticed that it once again began its watch on their campsite, its eyes never leaving her figure.

And so all through the night, up until her shift ended, Sakura too, stared into the eyes of the crow, knowing that from wherever it was that Itachi was currently located, that he knew where they were and what they were doing.

* * *

"Do you sense him?" Kisame muttered quietly, perched atop a tree on the outskirts of Konoha, clearly hidden and camouflaged from anybody's view.

Itachi did not speak for a long time, surveying the lit up city before him. "Ie" he stated.

"How could we have possibly missed him? He should still be in the hospital, what with the injuries he sustained from the explosion a few days ago." Kisame bit the inside of his lip in irritation.

"Let's go." Itachi wasted no time in turning back and fleeing from Konoha –he never liked to stay there too long if he could help it.

Leaving Konohagakure, Itachi couldn't help but note that Sakura, despite fearing him and having not seen or heard of him for eleven years, had still put enough faith in his words to heed his warning and take their Jinchuuriki away.

Itachi quickly summoned his crow, ordering him to search for Sakura's team and keep a watch on them, if only for the sake of making sure they didn't run into each other on their way back to the Akatsuki base.

"What's the raven for?" Kisame question from alongside.

"We might be able to locate them with an aerial vantage point."

Kisame nodded, agreeing that Itachi's crow would be able to move much faster and more easily undetected compared to two S-Class missing-nin; as such, it was more probable that Itachi's summoning would find the Jinchuuriki if he weren't too far from where they were. And hell, if they were to locate him, it would be even better –he would be away from Konoha, and they wouldn't have to fight off twenty or thirty shinobi just to try and capture him; just two or three at the most, which was most definitely beneficial to them. "We should alert Leader about our failure to capture him." Kisame stated, but noticed that Itachi made no move to activate the hologram. With a sigh, Kisame decided that he would take this task upon himself.

And so, five minutes later, Leader, or Pein, found himself walking down the halls of the Akatsuki base, entering a room where a sole person resided, a man with messy black hair and an orange swirly mask.

"Itachi and Kisame have failed in capturing the Nine-tails. He is not currently in Konoha, and his whereabouts are unknown." Pein stated, getting right down to business.

"It's fine." He began slowly. "As of now, we should put our plans to capture the Nine-tails on hold; other things take precedence." Pein raised an eyebrow in question, although he knew that Tobi, or as he referred to him as behind closed doors, Madara, could not see it, his back facing Pein. "Before all else, we must find and eliminate Orochimaru." And even though Madara explained his plans, Pein could still not understand why such a pest would take precedence over the Nine-Tails.

"Thanks to the stunt that Konan pulled, Orochimaru will stop at nothing to sabotage us." He began. "Although I do not know how the Haruno he had prisoner escaped, I do know that for some reason, he desperately wants her eyes, correct?" Madara now turned around, staring at Pein expectantly.

"Correct" Pein confirmed with a small nod.

"That Konohagakure kunoichi is close friends with the Jinchuuriki. If war breaks out before Orochimaru obtains his precious eyes, she will no doubt be caught in the cross fire that ensues; her eyes will no doubt be gone before he could even get his hands on them. Unlike Orochimaru, I'm not one to underestimate the power of a Haruno; there's a reason why they were eliminated long ago. She'll be the first to go once I get my hands on her. I'm sure he's noticed this, and the only chance for him to get them is for him to stall out our plans as long as possible."

Pein stood there, quietly taking in the information.

"He'll stop at nothing for the Flower Eye, and I'm sure you know better than most how much of a temperamental bother he could be when he wants to be. He'll ultimately be a bigger hindrance to our plans if we don't accordingly take him out first."

And that was absolutely true –Pein knew exactly how much of a temperamental ass Orochimaru could be, and he also knew one thing –Konan was a Haruno, which is why he most likely attacked her, discovering this shortly after his Haruno prisoner had escaped (He had high suspicions that Konan had set her free, but he did not care, nor would he blame her for this –she was family, after all, and family had always come first and foremost for Konan)

And although he wasn't one to underestimate Konan's skills, he knew fairly well that Orochimaru was a slippery bastard –and if he could not get his eyes from the Konoha kunoichi, he'd definitely set his sights on Konan's highly developed and refined eyes, and this he could not have. This is why, above all else, he had decided to intervene in the battle between Orochimaru and Konan –because shortly after Konan's Maple Tree emerged from the ground, it was obvious what she was, and Konan's safety was one of the most precious things to him.

"Hai" he said, turning around briskly and exiting the room in which Madara currently resided. Although he didn't completely see eye to eye with Madara's plans, he didn't care –because if this meant assuring Konan's safety first and foremost, he was all for it.

"One more thing, Pein." Madara briefly stopped Pein from making his exit just yet. "Inform Itachi to come see me once he returns from his mission."

"Hai"

* * *

_That insolent bitch-!_

_Orochimaru seethed, suddenly appearing from somewhere within the grounds of the Akatsuki, but hurriedly (or as fast as he possibly could in his current state, at least) began running, fearing that Pein would hunt him to finish what he had started. Lucky for him Tobi had been stupid enough to interfere when he did, or else he would have been a goner for sure under Pein's wrath. Perhaps trying to steal Konan's Flower Eye from right underneath Pein's nose had not been the brightest idea he had ever had, but with his Haruno heir long gone he supposed he had to settle for the next best, the eyes of a skilled S-Class criminal, which was not at all shabby either. _

_Before he could reflect further on his actions, he felt a sudden presence behind him, although he was glad to note that it was not who he had feared._

"_Orochimaru-senpai!"_

"_Tobi", he acknowledged somewhat angrily, knowing that this was not the time and place to begin conversing. That stupid brat didn't know when to shut up, that's for sure._

"_I'm sure if Orochimaru-senpai makes up with Konan-chan and Leader-sama that they'll forgive Orochimaru-senpai, and then Orochimaru-senpai can return to the base!" he proclaimed, hesitantly but hurriedly approaching Orochimaru, surveying his injuries._

_Orochimaru sneered. There was no way he could return to Akatsuki and continue his operations there, knowing full well that Konan was still there and still had the unquestioning loyalty and support of Pein._

"_Sorry Tobi, looks like you'll be on your own from now on." He wasn't sorry –not one bit. Actually, he was rather glad he attacked Konan, truthfully, he thought, turning around and beginning to walk away from Tobi._

"_No, I won't." Suddenly Tobi's voice changed, no longer taking on that childish tone, and behind Orochimaru, he could sense a presence so dark and evil he was almost taken aback. "See, we've got a few things in common, Orochimaru. You want that kunoichi, and I want every Haruno there is __**dead**__." The finality in his voice notified Orochimaru that Tobi was much, __much __more dangerous than he had previously led on. "So how about we strike up a deal?"_

_Orochimaru smirked. He liked deals. And so he turned around, eyeing Tobi, who no longer held the air of a child, but instead, a full blown S-Class, mass murdering missing-nin –this he could work with. "I'm listening." He spoke._

"_Pein is a fool." Oh yes, he was __**definitely **__listening now, he decided. "Truth is, I can only keep lying to him for so long –eventually he'll see that our aims with Akatsuki aren't exactly the same." Tobi began. "I have a very small window of opportunity, and I must make sure things go my way before I dispose of Pein and Konan, and their silly ideals. But let's just say the appearance of that Haruno has thrown me into quite a pinch, and now more than ever my time has been cut drastically." He stated._

"_So what do you get from helping me?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. He knew exactly what Tobi, whoever he was, was offering him –immunity from Akatsuki and the chance to obtain his eyes before war broke out, which was a pretty sweet deal in all honesty, but he knew there had to be a catch._

"_Why, I get that pesky Haruno off of my hair –and all of her little kinsmen, for that matter. You do to them as you see fit, experiment on them for all I care, but I want them __**gone**__." He emphasized. "Plus, I'm sure when the time comes to enact my plans, there'll be room for you to stand alongside me."_

"_You've got yourself a deal." Orochimaru stated, biting back his tongue on the important piece of information that Tobi currently lacked, that being that Konan herself was a Haruno. Of course, why would he reveal such information, if it would only further push Tobi away from Akatsuki (which Orochimaru needed him in, in order for him to in turn guarantee his safety from the likes of Pein or Itachi, etc.), but it might push Tobi to do something reckless such as killing Konan and abandoning Akatsuki. And this he also could not have, because, simply put, Orochimaru needed options. If he could not obtain the eyes of the unknown Haruno from Konoha, of which he had strong suspicions of her true identity as the heir, then he had to settle for second best, clearly behind Konan, who was much more accessible to him currently than that of the pink-haired kunoichi. And so, until he had in his hands the eyes of a powerful Haruno, he dare not share this bit of information with Tobi, who he now identified to be a lot more conniving than previously thought._

"_Well then Orochimaru, it'll be a pleasure working with you."_

_And just then Orochimaru saw it, the slight malicious glint of Tobi's one red eye, and that was all that needed to be said on the matter. "The pleasure's all mine." He grinned wickedly._

**End of Chapter**

**So… I'm not going to lie, this has, so far, been my favorite chapter to write ^-^ The little heart to heart between Sakura and Sasuke was just so touching and awe-inspiring for me. Was it too OC for Sasuke? What do you guys think? Because he had family and Sakura-oneechan to help him get back on his feet, I wanted to incorporate what his personality would be due to this change in events. I wanted to leave him relatively the same, but also with a soft spot for Sakura and Naruto, but also leaving him noticeably vulnerable when it came to such topics as Itachi. What do you guys think? Was it over done? :s**

**Plus, the plot is slowly starting to reveal itself an thicken ^-^ I can't wait until this story progresses ^.^ You guys are going to absolutely love it, trust me :p **

**Also, I know there isn't much ItaxSaki going on right now, but take into consideration that they haven't seen each other for eleven years (roughly two years on Sakura's behalf), and whereas Sakura is struggling to understand where she and Itachi stand in their relatively sloppy past, Itachi is trying to push down the feelings he had long since buried, so this'll be an interesting internal conflict for Itachi, I feel ^.^**

**IMPORTANT: Now, I stated before hand, that most of every chapter will include some form of flashback, in order to add some more depth and show some of the changes that Sakura caused during her stay. I have the next 2 chapters already written out (the third is in progress as I speak), but my question here is if there are any particular flashback you guys, the readers, would want me to include to perhaps clear up some misunderstandings or a few things you may be curious about? If you guys like the idea, drop it in a review or a pm and I'll be sure to include it in a chapter if it seems like a good one or popular enough ^.^**

**Questions? Concerns? Critiques? Comments? Suggestions? Leave 'em all here!**

**Any and all feedback is much appreciated!**

**-MarzSpy**

_**P.S. IMPORTANT NOTICE: **_**As you guys are aware, I am rewriting Sakura's New Past, in particular the earlier chapters that were made back in like 2009 whch are riddled with mistakes, poor writing, and in general a very sloppy plot. In case some of you would like to be notified of some of the major changes that are occurring while I reconstruct it, instead of reading it all over again, you can check out my _profile._ After the 'Updates' section of my profile, I am listing the changes (either changes in plot or structure) that I am making as I revise it. Also, if there are certain chapters that I feel have changed greatly, I may include a "You Might want to Re-Read" right after, to indicate that it shows a major event change or may be crucial to the development of the plot or may fix some of the inconsistencies that follow the story.**

**P.P.S.: There is a poll up in my profile, check it out if you have time. Depending on what you guys vote, it'll be what I start to prioritize!**


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